The Pied Piper of LME
by Jhiz
Summary: Lory's newest extravagant idea, a Family Fun Festival, has the LoveMe girls working hard but Kyoko, being her typical self, is still having lots of fun.  The romance has a dash of different guys but Ren is ultimately favored.
1. Chapter 1

**Fairy Wings**

"MO! I can't believe that President Takarada expects us to spend the entire day in character while we're poked, prodded and generally annoyed by hundreds of crazy fans," complains LoveMe number two to her fellow prisoners in pink. Her two companions glance up from the banner they are hastily covering with glue and glitter in a frantic attempt to complete the veritable mountain of chores foisted on the LoveMe section as part of LME's first ever Family Fun Festival scheduled for this coming weekend.

"It won't be that bad, Moko-san," promises Kyoko as she grabs the shaker bottle of gold glitter from her best friend's hand and shakes a large quantity over the glue outline of the final 'E' in WELCOME. The original member of the LoveMe section slips unconsciously into her glowing expression as a partial resident of the magic kingdom. She gently clasps her hands while an ear-to-ear grin stretches across her animated features. "It's gonna be just like a school festival only instead of all our classmates, we get to celebrate and play with all our wonderful co-workers, family and friends."

Kanae groans and flings her hands into the air. "You are impossible," she accuses the golden eyed actress before turning her attention to the third member of the cursed section. "You agree with me, right, Amamiya-san?"

Chiori expertly snaps the cap back on her industrial sized bottle of glue before glancing towards the actress she considers her senpai. She twitches her nose and lips a bit like a rabbit as she considers her answer.

"I think it will be a good experience to ad-lib with our characters," she finally replies before amending her statement. "As long as the president doesn't expect us to do anything embarrassing, we should be fine."

"Fine? MO! Have you seen the dresses we have to wear for the greeting and opening ceremony? I swear I would rather wear my stupid uniform."

Moko's negative comment about the costumes provided for the LoveMe girls for use during their greeter duties instantly returns Kyoko from her partial trip to LaLa land.

"But, Moko-san, those dresses are beautiful!" gushes the quirky young actress. "You will look utterly gorgeous in it. The length is perfect for your long legs and the cut of the bodice will nicely accent your lovely curves. You will look perfect."

"Perfectly awful," mutters Moko. "I'm gonna look like I fell into a giant garden of pink zinnias and decided to wear a blossom as my skirt."

Chiori snorts at the description. "You could always just pretend you had wings and were a flower fairy," the third LoveMe member mutters in an attempt to make a joke.

Instead of laughing, Kanae's eyes suddenly fill with fear, and she turns in horror towards her best friend. It is too late though. The image has struck LoveMe number one and both dark haired girls can do nothing but watch Kyoko's eery transformation to a full magical land inhabitant. Chiori and Kanae shudder at the blissful expression on their friend's face and whisper a silent prayer that this won't come back to bite them in their tender backsides.

* * *

"No! Absolutely not!" insists Kanae as she stomps her foot, folds her arms, and glares at the offending accessory being held towards her. The irate actress glances to her companions. One is sceptically holding her own accessory at arm's length and staring at it as if it might explode at any moment. The other is holding the newest addition to her costume as if it were made of delicate and beautiful spun glass.

"I refuse to wear this idiotic thing," Kotonami states firmly as she refuses to take the accessory from President Takarada's aide. "It's bad enough that I have to wear a hideous pink dress that not even a fashion refugee from the Isle of Ugly would wear. I will not wear that... that... thing!"

"But Moko-san," pleads a voice from further down the line of LoveMe girls. Kanae shudders and tries her best to keep from looking. Unfortunately, her will is not strong enough to resist the moaning of her best friend as she draws her nickname out once again in a pitiful whine. As if under the power of an unknown force, the actress turns to her friend. She desperately hopes that she can convince her companions to refuse the newly added contribution to their Family Fun Festival outfit. One peek at her best friend, and she knows that all is lost. Kyoko stands at the end of the line already dressed in her own ridiculously short, hideously pink, gauzy dress that unfortunately appears to have been designed by Tinkerbell's tailor. Against her chest, she clutches an elaborate set of gossamer wings in delicate shades of swirled pink, lavender and silver. The pure rapture on Kyoko's glowing face bathes the entire room in warmth.

Kanae sighs. She removes her left arm from its defiant position on her chest and holds it towards Lory's aide. Moko cringes as the man places her own set of fairy wings in her outstretched hand. She moans slightly as she wonders once more why she does the things that she does. Disgusted with herself and her costume, the actress dangles the offending wings from her fingers. She can't believe that she is going to go out in public like this.

Kanae glances once more across the room to watch Chiori assist Kyoko in attaching her wings to the back of her costume. In silence, she observes Kyoko dance around the room like a kindergarten girl at her first dance recital. The golden eyed actress radiates happiness and excitement. Kanae sighs once more before shaking her head and letting her lips quirk upwards in a soft smile.

"I blame you for this," she mutters to Chiori as the third LoveMe member approaches her to aid in affixing Kanae's wings to the back of her dress.

"It could be worse," Amamiya offers. "We could have to..."

"MO!" screeches Moko as she turns and slams her palm over Chiori's open mouth. "No more helping," she orders as her eyes glare deadly daggers at the third LoveMe girl.

Even though his face is covered by his costume veil, Lory's aide expertly schools his expression despite his amusement. No matter how professional he is, he can't control the twinkle of amusement in his eyes though as he watches the antics of the president's pink ambassadors of love.

* * *

About ten minutes later, LoveMe number two and three sedately follow a demonstrably more excited LoveMe number one from their small dressing tent situated near the side of the Takarada Mansion. The pink trio weave their way through the various stands where the final touches are being put on a wide variety of food and game stalls. As the girls round the corner of a cotton candy stand, they almost collide with a pile of boxes. The boxes are being carried in the arms of a panting man.

Concerned for the struggling LME employee whose identity is concealed by his burden, Kyoko enthusiastically offers to help him and pulls the top box off the pile. She reveals the startled and sweating face of a handsome man with soft chocolate eyes and messy brown hair. The young man has obviously been working quite hard. Kyoko smiles and asks where she can take his box.

"Just a couple rows over, Kyoko-chan," answers Yashiro Yukihito as he rests his other two boxes on the ground. He bends slightly and wipes his face with his stained t-shirt.

All three girls gape at the normally immaculate manager for LME's number one acting talent.

"Yashiro-san?" questions Kyoko sceptically.

The manager grins. "I guess I'm not exactly dressed normally today, huh?" he admits.

Kyoko grins in reply. "You look quite comfortable but don't you need your glasses?"

Yashiro retrieves his boxes from the ground as he explains that they would have been in the way today so he is wearing his contacts. The man adds that the individual talent managers are in charge of the talent show this afternoon and so he hopes she will stop by and watch a bit of it.

Carrying the third box against her chest, Kyoko diverts her path to head towards the small secondary stage that was constructed in President Takarada's huge back yard. Yashiro falls in line behind her. Sighing at the delay, Kanae and Chiori bring up the rear of the make-shift parade. When they reach the newly constructed stage, Kyoko's large box is confiscated by Toyokawa Kojiro, the manger for Bridge Rock, who quickly carries it back stage.

Yashiro thanks Kyoko for her kind assistance. Before the three LoveMe girls can leave though, the manager can't help but compliment the young actresses.

"By the way, ladies. You all look lovely in your costumes. Like perfect garden fairies," he states as his eyes take on the slightest bit of a naughty expression to accompany his grin. "Oh, and Kyko-chan. You should try to stop by and show Ren your costume. I am sure he would appreciate seeing your beautiful wings and dress."

As Kyoko nods enthusiastically and promises to show her senpai, Moko grumbles under her breath that is isn't her wings he'll be admiring.

Chiori glances at her companion with a slightly confused expression as Kyoko leads them back towards their original destination. She can't quite put her finger on it, but she knows that something about Tsuruga Ren bothers Kanae. She recognizes the symptoms of jealousy given her own struggles with the dark emotion. Amamiya just can't decide if it is professional or personal jealousy weighing the heart of her temporary companion. Although she has recently begun to feel more comfortable with the second talented actress in the LoveMe section, the Softhat loan hasn't felt comfortable enough yet about questioning her on it. Deciding that it really isn't any of her business, Chiori dismisses the thought and concentrates on following the actress she considers her senpai.

As the pink winged fairies leave the stage area, they pass Lory's aide who is carrying a large picnic basket in each arm. The gentleman stoically reminds the actresses that they are going to be late if they do not hurry. Kyoko squeals and takes off at a sprint. The handsome dark skinned man watches Kyoko's two companions rush after LoveMe number one. He shakes his head at their useless attempts to call to Kyoko and beg her to wait for them.

* * *

"Good afternoon!" greets Kyoko warmly as she smiles brightly and hands a small purple flier with a map and schedule of the days events to a cute teenage girl who is hanging on the arm of a slightly older guy. "Welcome to the first Family Fun Festival," the cute teen adds as she hands a flier to the middle-aged woman behind the teens.

"Thank you, Kyoko-san," responds the older woman as she tucks the flier into her clutch bag hanging from her wrist.

"Would you happen to know where I can find Takenori?" the woman politely inquires.

Kyoko frowns for a moment until she suddenly realizes who she is greeting. She bows formally.

"Of course, Sawara-san," she helpfully replies. Kyoko sits her basket on the ground and opens the flier in her hand. She points to a spot around the corner of the mansion in the large open field on the right side of the building. "Your husband should actually be behind the main stage here. He is in charge of the opening ceremonies. Do you know the young men in Bridge Rock? If you can't find Sawara-san, the Ishibashi big brothers could point you in the right direction. They will be there too because they are hosting the welcome."

The talent head's daughter squeals before telling her mom that she knows who the Bridge Rock guys are. The excited teen drops her arm from her boyfriend and grabs her mom's arm.

"Come on mom, lets go find dad!" she exclaims as she drags her mother into the crowd. The young girl's forgotten boyfriend sighs resignedly and follows as he mutters how much he really dislikes those Bridge Rock guys.

Kyoko retrieves her basket of fliers and turns to greet the next person. LoveMe number one welcomes more visitors for almost ten more minutes before she is approached by someone else that she recognizes.

"Hey, girl," barks a slightly cracking voice from under a baseball cap.

Kyoko greets the youth and offers him a flier. The young adolescent waves his left hand which already holds one of the yellow fliers that Kanae is handing to attendees. The boy lifts his head more and brushes back his baseball cap to reveal his face.

An almost affectionate smile graces Kyoko's lips as she recognizes the young actor who has easily grown three or four inches since she last saw him in person. "Oh, I am so glad that you were able to come, Hio-kun," expresses the actress.

The young teen blushes just slightly as he quickly glances over his shoulder towards Kyoko's best friend. "Thank you for sending me the two tickets," he grumbles as he turns to head towards his school friend who he invited to attend with him.

"Wait, Hio-kun," Kyoko calls quickly before stepping close and bending only slightly to whisper in the young actor's ear.

"Moko-san will be hosting the obstacle course between four and five today so you might want to stop by and show her what you can do," she offers.

Hio clears his throat and says in his slowly lowering voice that he'll think about it. The young celebrity then throws back his shoulders and confidently strides in the direction of his friend. Kyoko turns back to the entrance and finds Lory's aide holding a new pile of fliers for her basket. He nods in the direction of Uesugi Hio.

"You invited Uesugi-san?" he murmurs softly.

Kyoko nods happily as she holds out her basket for the older man to refill. The quiet gentleman nods in return before approaching the other LoveMe greeters with more fliers for their baskets too.

Fifteen minutes and three more baskets of maps and schedules later, Kyoko happily greets her landlords to the festival.

The young actress had given the couple their tickets weeks ago and explained that she understood if they could not come for the entire festival because of the restaurant. She had also explained that if they wanted to at least come for the fireworks in the evening after the restaurant closed, then they could use the tickets to get in the gate. Although the Taisho does not enjoy all the theatrics that always pervade LME related events, he and his wife were tickled that their sweet border invited them. The gruff man had to agree with his wife when she stated that it was their duty as surrogate parents to support their daughter in her endeavor. Thus, he had arranged for one of his retired friends to come and cook in the restaurant today. His friend kindly brought his two daughters to act in the Okami-san's stead.

"Your costume is quite lovely, Kyoko-chan," compliments the older woman. Although the Tashio is not impressed with the silly costume he is happy that it is less revealing then some of the costumes she has worn in the past.

"Thank you so much!" the actress gushes as she twirls a couple times. "See, just like a fairy."

Kyoko stops spinning. "I didn't expect you this afternoon. You didn't need to close the restaurant just to come," she expresses. Before she can apologize for forcing them to leave their business, the landlady pats her hand.

"Nonsense. We are very excited to attend your festival, Kyoko-chan, and we did not close the shop," countered the Okami-san. "The man who taught my husband to cook is actually enjoying himself today as he shows off his skills. We have everything covered."

Her husband grunts as he opens the flier and scans the map with a confused frown.

"We wouldn't have missed the festival that you worked so hard to help create," the Taisho states. "Even if it meant closing."

Kyoko gushes her thanks as the older man takes his wife's arm and leads her into the festival grounds on their way to investigate the food stalls available.

Although every LME employee was given ten tickets, Kyoko could only think of four people that she wanted to invite. She had given two tickets to Hio and two to her landlords. She and Chiori had both given four tickets to Kanae in order to force her to invite her family. Ren, having overheard the LoveMe trio discussing how to secure the three additional tickets for the huge Kotonami family, had kindly offered three of his to make the full 21 needed.

Kyoko's final two tickets had been sent to the delicate young man who rushes up to Kyoko just a few minutes before she is supposed to leave her greeter duties.

Director Ogata and his date, Asami Haruki, have both chosen to wear yukata in honor of attending the festival. Ogata's indigo summer robe is accented with a white and indigo striped obi. Asami wears a cream one with soft colored blossoms and a dark green obi. Both guests smile happily and compliment Kyoko on her costume. The director thanks Kyoko for kindly sending him tickets. He then laughs as he admits that Tsuruga sent him a pair too which Asami shared with her friend. Ogata smiles as if he has brought a lovely surprise for Kyoko. He steps back to reveal his supposed gift.

"Yo, Kyoko. What do they have you wearing now? Does your boss have an ulcer or something since all your uniforms are the color of pink digestive tablets?"

Kyoko stiffens at the sight of her previous prince and the current bane of her existence. Valiantly, she pastes a convincing smile on her face as she greets the Akatoki talent and his manager in her most professional and congenial manner.

Sho snorts.

"Mom would be so proud that you haven't forgotten what she taught you," the musician comments.

Before Kyoko can reply, Lory's aide taps her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me miss," he interrupts. "It is time for you to head to the stage for the opening ceremony.

Although Kyoko glances at her pink LoveMe watch and realizes that she should have five more minutes of greeting, she grabs the offered opportunity and hastily retreats while calling her goodbyes in her wake.

The silent man watches as Fuwa does his best to chase after the fleeing fairy, but he is recognized by a group of teen-aged girls who quickly put a stop to his pursuit as they scramble around him for autographs and pictures. Sho's manager rushes towards the gathering crowd to help protect her charge and also to protect the crowd from his possible bitterness from being thwarted in his chase.

The veiled man overhears Ogata lament that he had thought inviting Fuwa would be a nice surprise for Kyoko since they seemed so close during the Dark Moon filming. Asami pats her long-time friend's arm.

"It's okay, Hiroaki. You definitely gave her a surprise," assures his date.

Behind his veil, the aide again shows no emotion but in his mind he decides that he is quite positive that Kyoko could stand to have less surprises of that type in her life.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, I know that I have two other stories going already and I probably should hold off on this one but Kuu and Dark are giving me fits for some reason so I decided to do this short little idea that I got when I was planning out the fairy tales for Innocent Whispers while I search for the proper weapons to use to knock my favorite character and my demon dude into submission. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this distraction... Me**


	2. Chapter 2

**Magic**

The three Ishibashis stand behind the main stage in Lory's side yard while sharing a large box of Strawberry covered Pocky and guzzling Golden Cola in preparation for the start of the opening ceremony. Hikaru's eyes suddenly fly wide open, and he chokes as he inadvertently swallows his mouth of drink and tries to breath at the same time. Sputtering, the idol gags. Shinichi, in a desire to be helpful, pounds his chief on the back as Yuusei asks if he is okay. The short idol can do nothing but cough as a small pair of hands grasps his free hand.

"Are you okay, Hikaru-san?" inquires Kyoko in a tender and concerned tone as she pats his hand.

Surprised, Yuusei and Shinichi greet their young co-star. Both guys begin to laugh as they realize what made Hikaru choke. After a few more coughs, Hikaru gains control of his respiratory system again, but he can do nothing for the embarrassment painting his neck and cheeks. His color only darkens further when Kyoko again asks if he is okay, and he reluctantly admits that his drink just went down the wrong tube. Kyoko replies that she is glad that it wasn't serious.

"Yeah, it wasn't serious," starts Shinichi. "Serious is when he tries to walk and chew gum. That's something to see."

Yuusei lightly elbows Shinichi in the stomach while trying to draw attention away from Hikaru's embarrassing moment.

"Your costume is actually something to see, Kyoko-chan," exclaims the dark haired idol.

"You like it?" Kyoko preens as she spins joyfully so the boys can see all her wings better. Her skirt flairs affording the boys a quick glimpse of the lacy pink garter belts high on her upper thighs which are holding her pale pink stockings in place.

Hikaru coughs one more time.

"You look beautiful, Kyoko-chan. Like a little fairy princess," the oldest idol compliments. His blush, which had been fading slightly roars back to life.

"If you think I look good, you should see Moko-san and Amamiya-san. They look gorgeous in their costumes. Moko-san is like the regal queen of the fairies and Amamiya-san is her perfect handmaiden."

"Well, I am glad that you liked the wings," Sawara Takanori comments as he approaches four of his favorite talento section celebrities. The department head can't help but enjoy the Bridge Rock boys. Their easy-going attitude and innocent high-jinx are much preferred over the spoiled and scandalous behavior of some of his other charges. As for his little pink fairy, Sawara would never admit it out loud, but she has fast become one of his all-time favorites. Although Kyoko is prone to strange behavior with anything that involves Fuwa Sho, she is otherwise incredibly polite, well spoken, and hard-working. All three are attributes that Sawara regards highly, and Kyoko has them in spades.

"You'll have to thank Tsuruga-san for the wings. He mentioned that they would make a good addition to the LoveMe costumes to President Takarada who, of course, loved the idea."

Sawara chuckles.

"In fact, the president was a bit upset he didn't think of it himself."

"Well, I will make sure to thank both of them," promises Kyoko.

Sawara checks his watch and tells his charges that it is about time to start. He thanks them for helping with the opening then waves them up onto the stage before slipping out front to find his wife and daughter again.

As a stage hand fits each celebrity with a wireless microphone, Lory's aide approaches the group. This time, he is carrying a long glittering silver wand and a matching silver crown.

"Takara-sama thought that these would be a good addition to your costume," he states in his normally quiet and precise tone.

Of course, the addition thrills Kyoko, and it is a very exuberant actress who skips merrily as she follows the Bridge Rock boys onto the stage.

The cute male idols welcome everyone to the Family Fun Festival in much the same way as the start Kimagure Rock. As they talk, Kyoko flutters happily about the stage behind them. Since she was originally supposed to pester the three boys like a bratty little sister, her wand gives her even more ways to torment the boys while they are trying to look and sound professional. She tickles Hikaru in his side in the middle of his speech with the tip of the wand, and the audience laughs.

Hikaru glares at her then goes back to his introduction. Kyoko then skips over and begins to annoy Shinichi by waving her wand over his head and murmuring a silly little rhyme as if she was casting a spell on him. The joker shoos her away with his hand as he continues to speak. The audience continues to chuckle at her antics. When the pink fairy passes Yuusei, she smacks him in his butt with wand.

"Ouch!" he exclaims right in the middle of his attempted explanation of some of the highlighted events for the day. The idol rubs him rump and tells her to behave.

"You can't make me," taunts Kyoko as she shakes her wand and dances across the stage. The festival goers laugh again at the frustrated looks on Bridge Rock's faces.

Hikaru makes an exaggerated sigh into his microphone.

"Do you want something in particular, LoveMe Fairy?" the oldest idol asks.

"Well, yeah…" she replies with an expression that tells them they must be idiots for not realizing it sooner.

Hikaru sighs again.

"Do you think you can give us time to finish our welcome speech first?" he asks.

"Yeah," Yuusei adds. "We had to rehearse a really long time in order to remember all the stuff we have to tell folks."

Shinichi adds "And if I don't say my stuff now then I may never remember it."

"Alright," the pink fairy concedes. "But make it snappy. Remember, your audience really doesn't want to stand here all day when there are so many fun things they could be doing."

Shinichi raises his hands and promises to be fast. The Bridge Rock boys go back to their prepared lines while Kyoko mimes watching patiently. As their welcome continues, the fairy begins to become impatient. She checks her watch. She holds the watch to her ear as if to see if it is still working. The audience continues to laugh at her antics until she finally taps the watch as she mutters that they need to go faster into her microphone.

At this point Kyoko is supposed to become angry and stamp her feet until the boys speed up the rate of their speech. Instead, the actress decides to try casting a spell on the boys. After all, fairies have magic so she might as well use it.

"Babble, babble, loose your grips, words fall faster from your lips!" she cries as she waves her wand in an elaborate display.

After over a year of working with Kyoko as Bo and her chicken's tendency for improvisation the boys don't miss a beat. They suddenly start speaking their lines in double speed.

"Faster, faster!" the suddenly almost demonic fairy calls as she dances around the poor idols. The talents appear to panic as their words stream forth at an even more rapid pace. Finally, they end their lines and sink to the ground as if exhausted.

The audience cheers at their outstanding speed speech which, to be honest, the idols had been practicing for weeks. The LoveMe fairy also congratulates them before turning to address the crowd.

"If you missed any of that information, you can always check your map and schedule which were available from the LoveMe fairies at the entrance." Kyoko waves her wand towards the back of the huge crowd where Kanae and Chiori are standing. "If you don't have one, see one of my lovely magical friends who have more copies available."

"In the mean time, I will leave you this final bit of fairy magic:

May your day be fun and filled with much joy

With games, food and frolic for every girl and boy

So enjoy this fine day

Magical blessings for those pure of heart

Cherished memories held when we must part."

Kyoko then waves her wand once more as if to seal the spell, blows a kiss to the crowd and skips off the stage. Her exit is followed with loud laughter as the Ishibashis crawl as if exhausted off the stage.

"That was so much fun!" Kyoko gushes to her co-stars as the stage hand stores their microphones for later use. The golden eyed actress attempts to return the fairy props to Lory's aide who remained behind the stage during their performance. He tells her that she can keep them which causes her squeal in thanks. Checking her watch, Kyoko calls out a quick parting to her Ishibashi big brothers.

"Oh, Kyoko-chan," calls Hikaru before she can escape. "Would you like to sit with me for the fireworks tonight?"

Kyoko grins.

"That would be fun," the actress answers. "We'll be together for the mystery gifts anyway so it will be nice to sit all together."

As Kyoko races merrily into the festival grounds, Sebastian shakes his head in pity as Yuusei clasps Hikaru on his shoulder.

"Don't feel bad, man. At least she didn't say no."

"Yeah, and now you can share your blanket with all of us," teases Shinichi.

* * *

Kyoko practically flies across the president's transformed estate. The sights and sounds of the festival barely register in her rush to reach her destination. Skirting the elaborate entrance to President Takarada's shrub labyrinth, the LoveMe fairy sprints to the exit on the far side of the large botanical maze. She steps into the make-up and preparation tent that was erected near the exit but she is deeply disappointed when all she sees is a make-up technician applying the final touches to the grisly visage of a LME actor who played the part of a demon in a recent horror film.

Kyoko backs out of the tent with a disappointed look on her face. Breathing deeply, she notices an unpleasant yet familiar odor. Making sure no one sees, she slips into the back entrance of the maze and follows her nose until she reaches a dead end where a dark brooding man in a trench coat rests on a stone bench. A scattered pile of cigarettes litter the ground at his feet. The vicious killer from the summer's biggest thriller stands to his full menacing height and steps towards the innocent little pink clad girl. An aura of death and destruction flows from the character in a manner that would have normal people fleeing in fear or cowering in terror.

Unfazed by mortal might, the fairy does neither. Instead, she places one hand on her hip and raises her wand. The wand pokes into the chest of the evil shadow of a man. A quirky smile crosses the fairy's face as she informs BJ-san that he needs to clean up his mess before he raises the ire of the entire magic kingdom at his blatant disregard for nature.

For a moment, the actor and actress pit their character's auras against each other. The older male suddenly snorts derisively. His body language shifts slightly. Although his deathly aura dissipates, a strong sense of menace remains.

"Dammit, Setsu," Cain Heel cusses. "I'm supposed to be in character here."

"Sorry, Big Brother," replies the fairy as she instantly shifts personalities also.

"What the hell are you wearing anyway," Cain grumbles.

Setsu glances down at her bright pink outfit and frowns. Mogami Kyoko might be the only person who can force Tsuruga Ren to forget himself when acting, but she is just as vulnerable to her own desires and joys. Setsu slips away and Kyoko peeks up at the man playing multiple parts at once.

"I wanted to find Tsuruga-san to show him my costume," she whispers so quietly that not even the shrubs would be able to hear it.

The cute and innocent smile that Kyoko bestows on the tall actor shreds another layer of his persona.

"You look lovely, Mogami-san," murmurs Ren in a matching whisper.

Kyoko giggles. She steps back and performs the same spin that she did for her Ishibashi big brothers. The quick peek of pink garters again elicits a response. At the core of the actor, Kuon cusses and growls as Ren stomps on his desire to run his hands up her legs to see if her underwear matches the seductive little lace bits he just witnessed.

Ren crosses his arms and takes a steadying breath. When he opens his eyes, Kyoko is standing close to him again. Out of self preservation, he almost steps backwards but stalls the motion when the actress raises her eyes and traps him.

"Thank you for mentioning the wings to President Takarada," she coos softly in an unconsciously seductive manner.

Ren's brain blanks in panic and Kuon triumphantly growls that it was his pleasure.

Thinking that Tsuruga-san is trying to get back into character, Kyoko steps back and smiles brightly.

"Well, have fun scaring folks in the haunted labyrinth, BJ-san!" she calls cheerfully before retreating down the path.

Ren groans and sinks onto the stone bench once more.

"I really need to learn to keep all my mouths shut," he grumbles in frustration.

* * *

**A/N: *sigh* Someone needs to tell me why Ren keeps insisting on becoming a perv every time Kyoko acts overly cute... oh well, guess I have to up the rating, darn his handsome hide - Me  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Natsu's Idea of Fun**

"Ah, Mogami-kun," greets Takarada Lory as Kyoko comes to rest at the queuing line for the obstacle course. Before the actress can properly greet the president of LME, a small, golden haired child launches herself into the actress' middle while crying happily.

"Big Sister!" Maria squeals as she adheres herself to Kyoko in much the manner as LoveMe number one hugs Kanae.

"It has been way too long since we played together," the child complains loudly before lowering her voice to a whisper only Kyoko can hear. "I have gotten the most wonderful new book outlining how to make hoodoo talismans and sigils for placement in a mojo bag. I was hoping you could help me sew a bag, and we could do some scroll work together. I've even picked the perfect psalms to use."

"Sounds like fun," whispers back the actress with a conspiratorial smile. Aloud she compliments Maria's pink frilly outfit that closely resembles her own. The only difference in the pretty pink dress is that the younger child's frilly skirt falls to her knees instead of the significantly shorter length on the LoveMe girl's outfit. After all, the outfits were designed personally by Lory. No matter what else he may be, he is still Maria's grandfather first and foremost, and no matter who they are, no grandfather would want to see their cute little granddaughter in an outfit designed to inspire the particular kind of love that his older girls' outfits are meant to do. There is a reason why the youngest Takarada has been relegated to overly cute, overly frilly, almost baby girl outfits, and it has nothing to do with personal taste.

Finally untangling herself from Maria's grasp, Kyoko bows formally to President Takarada and offers him a proper greeting. He smiles magnanimously but waves away her formal behavior.

"You will need to relax, Mogami-kun. After all, I am going to be your partner manning the obstacle course for the next hour so we should endeavor to be just a bit less formal. At least for one day," the eccentric man recommends.

"Oh, yes, sir."

Lory chuckles and shakes his head slightly. His aide flips the welcome sign for the booth to indicate that it is now open for competition. A handful of young men slip into the line, and Kyoko welcomes them and explains how the obstacle course works.

The course was designed by one of Lory's stunt coordinator friends. He had planned a collection of relatively simple stunts which four competitors can race through. A tiny model of the course sits on the table by the entrance, and Kyoko points out each part as she instructs the first four contestants.

"The obstacles start out much like playground equipment. There are monkey bars to climb, balance beams to walk, tunnels to crawl, and net-like rope ladders to ascend. Once a racer reaches the first platform, the obstacles become a bit more difficult. There are zip lines and vertical rope climbs to the second platform. From the second platform, contestants will need to get from the platform across an open space roughly five meters and through an opening on the side of a very slightly inclined wall."

The actress continues her explanation. "The space between platforms two and three is filled with the large squishy padding blocks that normally fill gymnastic pits. The blocks will help protect the contestants while still providing a bit of a hindrance to those who are trying to wade through the area to try climbing the almost vertical wall to the two and a half meter high hole. There is a slide on the other side of this third platform and then a straight shot to the finish line."

The actress offers the first two young men safety helmets while her little fairy helper gives the other two their helmets. Kyoko starts the race. As expected, all four teens race through the first part of the course. They also have no problems with the zip line. One of the boys finds himself unable to climb the vertical rope to the second platform. Disappointed, the youth exits the course. A few moments later, he is joined by another one of his friends who is not able to get up the wall to the third platform. Their other two buddies complete the course. President Takarada makes an extravagant show of congratulating the two who finished the deceptively difficult course, and the two youth grin arrogantly. Unfortunately for the two who finish the race, Kyoko offers her kind words of sympathy and sweet smiles to the two boys who did not complete the course instead. The two who missed completing the obstacles leave the race stall with entirely different kinds of smiles and slight blushes in place.

The fun hour in the Takaradas' enjoyable company passes entirely too quickly for Kyoko, and all too soon, she realizes it is almost time for her to meet Chiori to get changed into her next costume for the day. Her and Takaradas' relief workers arrive in the form of four LME human resource workers. Kyoko hugs Maria and bids good day to the President and his aide. Before Kyoko can leave, Maria begs her to join her for the fireworks this evening.

Kyoko promises that they can all sit together with all their friends this evening as long as she doesn't mind sharing her big sister with the Ishibashi big brothers too since they asked first. Reluctantly, Maria agrees. Kyoko promises to see her later before hugging the blond girl again. As the Takarada party watches the pretty pink fairy streak out of sight, Maria turns to her grandfather. The gentleman is startled by the serious expression on her face.

"Grandfather," the girl starts as a frown forms on her face. She crosses her arms in displeasure. "I think some of those boys didn't really try very hard to win their races."

"Why would you think that, my dear?" the eccentric older man inquires with a knowing grin. He thinks the very same thing and is wondering if his granddaughter saw the same thing he did.

"Well, it seemed to me that they all just wanted an excuse to talk with Kyoko-chan because the ones who lost seemed to leave happier then the ones who won."

Lory places his hand on his granddaughter's soft curls and laughs.

"I think you may be right, Maria."

"None of them are good enough for big sister," states Maria firmly with a thoughtful expression as she wonders if teenage guys are frightened by cockroaches and spiders like the girls who are always trying to get close to Ren.

"Perhaps you are right," Lory agrees with another chuckle. Behind him, his aide nods ever so slightly in agreement too.

* * *

Just a few minutes later, Chiori enters the LoveMe tent carrying two little paper boxes of Inarizushi and two bottles of water.

"Kyoko-san?" the actress calls to gain her LoveMe senpai's attention. The quirky actress is currently huddled in a corner of the tent desperately muttering to herself and crumbling papers and setting the rejected pieces on an ever growing pile.

"Can I help with anything?" the dark haired actress inquires as she leans over Kyoko's shoulder to see what she is doing. On the floor is a small, elaborately wrapped gift in shiny silver paper with a fountain of brightly colored ribbons to decorate it. Kyoko scribbles a little message with a bright green pen on yet another piece of pretty colored stationary with scrolling flowers on the border. She folds the paper and puts it in one of the matching envelops before telling her fellow LoveMe member that she is done. She affixes her three matching envelops to the gift and sighs contentedly.

Chiori hands Kyoko one of the dishes of food and a water and mentions that she figures she was too busy to eat so far. Kyoko sheepishly admits that she is right as her stomach starts to rumble at the mention of food. The friends make quick work of their snacks.

Sadly, Kyoko must now remove her fairy costume. She sniffs softly and dabs her eyes as she slips out of the outfit and hangs it carefully on the portable wardrobe rack that holds all the LoveMe girls costumes for the day. Having cast off her fairy tale persona along with her costume, Kyoko lifts a school uniform from the bar. Her golden eyes meet and hold Chiori's dark ones. A smirk, alien to Kyoko's normal countenance but perfectly at home for her next character, slithers across her lips. An answering smirk appears on her companion's lips.

Twenty minutes later, Natsu and Yumika stalk from the tent. For the next three hours, the girls are to immerse themselves in their characters from Box R.

Just last week, President Takarada had stressed to every celebrity that they are to remain in character for whichever parts they play for their shifts. He had said that part of the fun for the guests would not only include getting to meet the celebrities themselves but also the characters they play.

"We're supposed to relieve Matsunai Ruriko at the meet and greet area by the main stage in about ten minutes," reminds Yumika.

Natsu just smirks. She has found something much more interesting then a meet and greet. At a game stall where contestants can throw baseballs at a target and dunk a celebrity into a dunk tank, a trio of cute celebrities have attracted quite a crowd. The teen predator slinks smoothly through the crowd drawing the attention of males and females alike. Scorching glances of desire and envy follow in her wake.

Although Chiori momentarily worries that they will get in trouble for being late to their scheduled appearance, her acting spirit prods her into following Kyoko. As Yumika, she can do nothing less then follow Natsu or fear for her safety and sanity. The dark haired actress shrugs and decides to go with the scene. She is sure that Kyoko can sort out the consequences after they are done playing. If nothing else, it should be interesting.

Natsu reaches the front of the stall entrance and boosts herself onto the tabletop. She crosses her legs and leans back a bit.

"Um, miss, you really..." starts Ishibashi Hikaru as he addresses the girl in her school uniform. He plans to ask the teen to get down from the booth for her own safety but his words fall silent as the sultry teen turns her attention fully on him.

Natsu licks her lips and tilts her head slightly as a soft murmur escapes her lips.

"Hmmm?" she purrs to the stunned idol. The festival guests stare silently as the confident, gorgeous vixen renders the normally talkative celebrity speechless.

"Hey, Kyoko-chan!" calls Shinichi from the dunk tank. "You're distracting everyone. I'm feeling ignored out here!"

Yuusei frowns slightly as he tries to remind Kyoko-chan that he thought she had another place she was supposed to be now.

Natsu's eyes narrow at the insult of being called by another girl's name.

"Someone needs to learn some respect," she states firmly to Yumika while raising one of her eyebrows slightly. Yumika immediately agrees and ducks under the rope, shoves the next contestant out of the way, and stalks towards the tank.

"Her name is Natsu," she instructs before she shoves the target with her hand. Shinichi's seat flips, and the blond idol falls into the water. He yells as the cold water covers his head.

As Yumika saunters back towards the front of the booth, Natsu reminds her that she is supposed to use the baseballs. Yumika responds by grabbing the baseballs from a shocked Yuusei's arms. She then lobs the baseballs towards the dunk tank. The first one slams against the plastic front which causes Shinichi who has just resurfaced to flinch and flounder in the water. The second and third balls drop into the tank. One hits the idol in the shoulder and the other splashes in the water beside him. The blond member of Bridge Rock yells in surprise more then pain. He rubs his shoulder absently with a frown on his normally smiling face.

Natsu's right hand steps from the game stall and into the crowd. The slightly awed festival guests move from her path nervously as the dark haired school girl turns to her leader for her reaction.

The lead predator still reclines slightly on the booth table. Her eyes now reflect a chilling approval and mild happiness at the display of mild abuse. She winks towards Yumika as she presses her knees together and gracefully arches her legs over to the back of the booth. She then slides forward until she is standing in the stall area. Hips swaying seductively, she stalks towards Hikaru and Yuusei.

"Now, what's my name?" she purrs menacingly as she walks her carefully manicured fingernails up Hikaru's stomach to his chest.

The twenty-one year old swallows, and he struggles slightly to find his voice.

"Natsu-san?" he stammers as his eyes focus solely on the girl in front of him and he seems to forget the audience.

"Good boy," congratulates Natsu as her hand comes to rest over Hikaru's heart. The school girl steps even closer and completely invades the cute idol's personal space. His face instantly flushes and his heart rate escalates. Natsu smirks and flexes her nails ever so slightly on his chest. Hikaru's eyes widen, and he takes a strangled breath.

Natsu turns her head towards Hikaru's taller shadow and makes eye contact. She watches Yuusei's reaction as the fingers of her left hand travel up Hikaru's arm, over his shoulder and into his hair. Hikaru closes his eyes and leans slightly into the wonderfully gentle fingers caressing the side of his head. A contented sigh escapes Hikaru's lips, and Yuusei clenches his fists.

Natsu smirks at the other boy who she knows will become more upset at her manipulation of his friend over anything that she does directly to him.

"What's my name, boy?"she inquires to Yuusei as she rests her left palm against Hikaru's cheek. Hikaru moans ever so slightly, and Yuusei's eyes narrow.

"Natsu-san," he snaps in response.

"Good, boy," she replies. "Now, do you think you can make sure your other, blond friend remembers it too?"

Natsu glances over to indicate Shinichi who is still standing chest deep in the dunk tank staring in awe at his buddies and the scary bombshell that has invaded their normally sweet co-star. When Yuusei fails to respond quickly enough, Natsu shifts her body slightly and brushes the left upper side of her hip against the front of Hikaru's shorts. This time, he moans loud enough for even the enthralled crowd to hear.

"Well?"

Yuusei clenches his jaw and promises to make Shinichi remember her name as well.

"Good, boy," she replies as she pets Hikaru once more on the side of his head. She drops her hands and spins. She brushes her hip once more against Hikaru's shorts as she turns, and he shudders.

Natsu steps forward towards the exit from the booth. The entire crowd of spectators splits to let her pass as if she is royalty. Yumika falls into step behind her.

Luckily for Ishibashi Hikaru, the crowd is still staring at Natsu's retreating form when reality comes crashing back down on him. The idol's brown eyes fly open and his face falls as Yuusei's hand comes to rest on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he whispers in his chief's ear.

Hikaru bites his lower lip and looks down his body in embarrassment.

"Actually, I think I need a moment alone," the older idol admits as he races from the booth with his cheeks flaming and his shorts uncomfortably tight.

* * *

When Natsu and Yumika finally meander in to the meet and greet area, Ruriko is practically spitting nails she is so angry. She grabs Kyoko's wrist and drags her towards the stage and away from the crowd's ear-shot.

"Where the hell have you been?" hisses the singer. "You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.

Natsu pauses for a minute as if she has to really think about the answer. She smiles as she remembers her most recent mayhem.

"Actually, Ruriko-chan, I was delayed for a moment due to the need to school some silly boys in the proper way to address a girl."

Startled at the strange excuse she is given, Ruriko is silent for a moment and so Natsu continues.

"I am quite sorry," the actress' character expresses in a borderline sincere tone. "I should have gotten here sooner. It seems my delay has inconvenienced you. I am truly sorry for it seems I have forced you to stay in the sun too long. You are starting to appear a bit red."

Horrified, Ruriko's hands fly to her cheeks. She squeaks and rushes to the stage to retrieve her personal items.

"I can always loan some of my tan toned make-up," Natsu offers with a smile as she watches the singer grab up her large purse and special umbrella.

Rurika cries and flees from the area in desperation to find some shade, a mirror and some moisturizer.

"Well, that was easy," giggles Yumika as she congratulates Natsu on her quick kill. Natsu shrugs slightly before wrapping her arm around her friend's elbow and turning her attention to the gathering of fans. She wonders how long it will be before she can have some more fun.

* * *

Fuwa Sho is not having the day he had anticipated. For the past three hours he has done nothing but race from one place to another trying to catch even a glimpse of Kyoko.

As soon as the opening ceremony finished, he had pushed his way to the back of the main stage only to find that she had already escaped. He had then asked the pretty, dark haired fairy who was dressed like Kyoko where he could find her. The girl had stared at him strangely in almost the same way you would glare at a stray animal. Sho had figured the girl was jealous that he was asking for Kyoko instead of paying attention to her so he complimented her a couple times. When he finished telling her how much better her pink fairy costume looked on her then on Kyoko the chick had finally told him that Kyoko should be at the far end of the estate helping with the young children play area.

The musician had then dragged his manager across the sizable grounds of the Takarada estate at a breakneck speed. Once there, he had been unable to find anything but a splitting headache in the land of bouncy houses, pony rides and screaming children.

The singer cringes. He will take the sounds of screaming fangirls any day over the even shriller waves of noise that hundreds of children hyped up on cotton candy and double dosed sno-cones can create.

After the long walk to the kid's play area had yielded no Kyoko, he had taken to wandering through the food stalls and listening to other guests to see if they mentioned seeing his wayward fairy. The musician overheard a young woman carrying a large make-up case mention to her companion that she saw the fairy from the opening ceremony sneaking in the back entrance of the haunted labyrinth.

Sho's stomach clenches in memory of the horror he encountered in the heart of the sadistic shrubbery. Even an hour later, he still shudders at the thought of the psychotic killer who had stalked him and his manager through the bushes. By the time they reached the exit of the maze, Shoko had practically been in tears, and Sho had been glad he didn't need to use the bathroom. Otherwise, he might have really embarrassed himself.

At that point, Shoko had told him that he was on his own. She was finding the nearest stall serving alcoholic beverages and scouring the memory of their trip through the labyrinth from her brain.

Sho had taken a few minutes to compose himself then set out once again on his search. He had followed another overheard conversation and ended up finding the short haired fairy instead of Kyoko. She had been ordering snacks. Since his last attempt to get one of her co-workers to tell him where his property was ended in such a disaster, he decided not to ask this one. Instead, he wandered past a couple of teen-aged boys who where discussing whether they should go back to the obstacle course and fail again in order to get more sympathy from the cute fairy princess working the stand. He had been sure he would find her that time. No one but Kyoko would be that concerned with the losers of an event.

Sho rubs his head as he remembers his next horrible experience.

The musician had found the obstacle course but no Kyoko-fairy. There had been a bunch of old office ladies instead who had kindly informed him that Kyoko-chan had finished her shift a long time ago. In frustration, Sho had ripped off his hat and run his hand through his blond hair. This caught the attention of a number of teen-aged girls who proceeded to scream and freak over finding Fuwa Sho. One of the girls, in turn, had gotten excited at the thought that he was going to try the obstacle course. The musician had no interest in the stupid obstacle course, but the girls were screaming so crazily that he finally said okay just to shut their mouths.

None of the guys in the crowd seemed real comfortable with competing against him and so he almost avoided the annoying race until a short, dark-haired kid who couldn't have been any older then twelve stepped up and offered to race him. He dragged his friend along to race, and they had a three way competition.

Sho had been so confident in his ability to win. After all, he was naturally athletic. He had never known defeat at any sports besides stupid badminton, and he had obviously improved in that too since he had thrashed that idiot chicken soundly on national television playing it. What kind of competition could two junior high boys be for him?

Fuwa groans as he remembers the humiliation of watching the shrimp who challenged him not only toast him through the entire course, but he had the gall to come back after he won the race and offer his hand from the top of the final platform to aid his friend up the ridiculous wall so that he could finish the race too. The musician had barely finished ahead of the kid that the damn shrimp helped.

After his humiliating defeat, the musician had stormed off to find Shoko once more. He found her relaxing on a huge deck in a cordoned off area where women in brightly colored yukata were serving adults alcoholic drinks. Of course, the stupid LME employees refused to serve him, and he had cussed at Shoko and the servers and the whole idiotic company, but all that got him was a scolding from his manager and a threat to remove him from the property from a dark skinned man dressed a bit like an Arabic nomad.

Sho had taken the hint and skulked away like a dog with his tail between his legs.

So now, Sho sits on a bench in the middle of the food stalls with a horrible headache, sore muscles and a bruised ego. He cusses his luck and even cusses Kyoko for succeeding in leading him on such a horrible goose chase. Fuwa is seriously contemplating calling a cab and going home when he hears two girls mention going to sing karaoke. Sho's spirit rises. Now there is something that he can enjoy. Ego re-inflating at the prospect of showing these amateurs what a real singer can do, Sho smirks while casually following the two girls who seem to know where the karaoke can be found.

* * *

"Hey, Natsu," Yumika hesitantly begins as the two girls stalk through the food stalls once more.

"Hmm?"

"Don't you need to meet Tsuruga-san soon?"

Natsu frowns slightly as if trying to remember if she really needs to meet him or if she can keep having fun. Today has been the most fun the school girl can ever remember having. She just wishes that Kaori and Tugumi were here. The pretty teen pulls her cell phone from her pocket and flips it open.

"Maybe I'll just text him and tell him that I will be by to see him later," Natsu decides before Kyoko has a chance to emerge and stop her. She is suddenly distracted though when she hears a velvety voice flowing over the decidedly more mundane sounds of the festival. A thrill of joy shivers up Natsu's spine as she suddenly decides on something much more fun then anything else available at this festival.

With a truly evil grin that makes even Yumika shiver in fear, Natsu tosses her phone to her friend.

"Why don't you call the big man and let him know I have some business to address at the karaoke station. You might want to mention that I could really use his help too so if he could make it there soon I would be _desperately_ in his debt."

Yumiko stares in fear as Natsu turns and saunters away from her. A look of panic crosses the shorter girl's face as she glances quickly from the phone to her friend's back as she disappears down the aisle.

"Oh my god," mutters Chiori as she quickly opens the phone and scrolls through Kyoko's contacts in a panic. "I hope she doesn't kill anyone."

* * *

**A/N: I feel completely guilty and slightly dirty after writing Natsu and Bridge Rock together. I can't believe I thought that was a good idea. I like Hikaru for heaven's sake. Why would I do that to him? *sob* I am SO SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! It seemed like such a good idea in the outline. Just an innocent distraction to give Natsu a reason to be snippy to an angry Ruriko. Unfortunately, Natsu does not seem to do innocent very well. Well, I hope no one hates me now... well, unless it is because I ended the chapter right at a good part *evil grin* -ME**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sing a Song of Revenge**

Tsuruga Ren exits the opulent bathroom of the first floor guest suite that Lory has set aside for his transformation from Cain Heel and BJ to his normal persona.

The actor can not help but grin at the day he is having. Ren gives his wet hair one last vigorous rub with the small, white towel in his hand. It feels good to wash the grime and stench of BJ down the drain and return to himself again. He tosses the damp cloth over the back of a chair and glances at the ornate wall clock. His grin broadens. In a few minutes, Kyoko should be clamoring into the mansion to meet him for a few minutes. They are going to share a quick meal while Jelly Woods transforms Kyoko into Mio.

Ren wonders how his kohai's day has been since she confronted him in the haunted maze. The actor chuckles. He can't believe he tried to convince President Takarada that he didn't want to spend any time as his most recent movie character. He reminds himself that he will need to thank the eccentric older man for insisting. His shift in the shrubbery afforded him the chance of a lifetime; it gave him the perfect opportunity to terrorize that spoiled brat, Fuwa.

For a moment, Ren revels in the childish joy of scaring the hell out of the blond rocker. He wonders if he should admit to Kyoko that he did it. It would be sure to give her a good laugh. Sheepishly, he decides the he better not. Given how nasty he treated her when he thought she was using acting for revenge, she would be sure to call him a hypocrite for using his acting in such a manner also. Ren smirks as he realizes that he can always just tell her that he was doing his job. He was supposed to scare people. It was a haunted labyrinth. Folks were supposed to be scared. He chuckles again. She would believe him. No matter how lame his excuses, she always does.

From its spot on the dresser, his phone rings with the silly magical sounding ring-tone that Yashiro previously programmed onto his phone. Ren would never admit it to his meddling friend, but he loves the tinkling sound now. Flipping open his phone, Ren can't help but start the conversation by teasing Kyoko. He is in too good a mood to resist.

"Hey, my little fairy princess, you're going to be late for your lunch if you don't hurry," the actor teases.

There is no answer on Ren's end as Chiori pulls the phone away from her ear and stares at the electronic strangely. LoveMe number three fleetingly wonders if Tsuruga-san always uses such a tender tone in private with LoveMe number one, and if so, why is she still LoveMe number one?

The long pause drags and Ren wonders how he could have irked Kyoko so quickly.

"Mogami-san?" questions the actor to break the long pause.

"Um..." Chiori replies nervously. "It's actually Amamiya Chiori. Not Kyoko-chan."

Ren blushes slightly as he wonders what the newest pink captive must be thinking of him now. Suddenly, his good mood sobers. "Is everything alright?" he asks a bit anxiously as worrisome images invade his previous happy thoughts.

"Well... that all depends on your definition of alright."

"Amamiya-san," states Ren firmly in a tone much like an annoyed parent.

"Man, you sound like one of my teachers," she nervously states as she tries to avoid the reason for her call.

"Amamiya-san. Is Mogami-san alright?" Ren asks again.

Since her loyalty belongs to Kyoko and not the actor, Chiori relays the message that Natsu requested. She stresses that Kyoko really needs the actor's help. Ren immediately promises to be there soon. The tall actor strides out of the bedroom of the suite to the living room where Jelly and Lory are sitting at a table waiting for Kyoko to arrive.

"Where do you think you are going," President Takarada calls to the distracted actor as his long legs carry him across the room quickly.

Ren pauses for the simple explanation of an errand.

"I think not my boy," laughs Lory. "Unless your errand is in my house, there is no way you are going out there right now. You wouldn't make it fifty feet before your were mobbed."

Ren gives the older man a look that plainly says he is going anyway. Lory sigh.

"Ren, love is messy, but it should not be suicidal," the president states as he stands. "Call Yashiro. Send him first, you can get back into Cain's costume and be on your way in a a few minutes."

Jelly grabs her magic case without even being asked.

"But,"

"Call. Change. Then you can go."

Ren glances to the door which is now being blocked by Lory's aide. His eyes narrow as he opens his phone and calls Yashiro. His manager immediately agrees to go to the karaoke station and see if something is happening.

"And Yashiro, make sure you get the story right this time,"

Ren sighs as he remembers the last time he sent Yashiro ahead of his arrival to help Kyoko. That time didn't turn out so well. Silently, Ren hopes that this one does. He snaps his phone shut and drops in on the table before returning to the bedroom to change back to BJ's outfit.

President Takarada glances towards his aide and inclines his head in the direction of the exit. Sebastian nods. Silently, the aide leaves to go and investigate the disturbance for his eccentric employer.

* * *

Yashiro excuses himself from the pretty young woman from accounting with whom he is sharing a drink. He sighs and hopes the she will remember who he is the next time he sees her. Although he would never wish harm to Ren's little kohai, he hopes she really needs his help or else he is is going to be really disappointed. He silently cusses his idiot in love charge for being so slow. Yashiro just knows that he would not be in this situation if Ren would just tell that clueless girl how he feels. Whoever is chasing Kyoko-chan now would be an idiot to go after the established girlfriend of the Tsuruga Ren. To bad for Yashiro, that Kyoko is not the prey at this moment. It would make his life much simpler.

* * *

Sho starts singing his third song. Eyes closed as he croons one of the few love songs that he enjoys almost as much as his own music, he feels the music flow from his soul, across his lips and into the enthralled audience. Fuwa feels the pulsing throb of the audience as if he holds their hearts in the palm of his hands. Suddenly, something feels wrong. A ripple of discontent flutters through the crowd. A consummate stage musician, Sho does a quick evaluation of his performance to see if he has inadvertently caused the reaction. Finding his delivery as flawless as expected, he opens his eyes in an attempt to discover the reason for the change.

Sitting just to his left all alone on a bench that had previously hosted at least six star-struck girls is a teen-aged girl in a vaguely familiar school uniform. The musician continues to sing as his eyes travel up the teen's gracefully crossed legs, skim over her body pausing just briefly to lament her lack of over-sized endowment before continuing to the young woman's face. Sho lingers for a moment on her smirking lips before finally making eye contact. The musician's voice falters slightly in dawning recognition as he stares into the expressive golden eyes that he has been searching in vain all day.

Natsu's eyes mock him for his mistake, and the normally arrogant singer finds himself blushing just slightly. Sho turns the core of his attention back to his song but remains aware of the piercing eyes of his childhood friend watching his every move. He can feel the weight of her eyes as they continue to dissect his every move and note. His stomach clenches as he reads disappointment and sadness in her eyes. For a moment he is confused as to whether the emotions she shows him are her reaction to his singing or to him. Sho finishes his song and hands the microphone to the technician.

The audience claps but it lacks the enthusiasm after his first two songs. The crowd murmurs as whispered rumors of Natsu's previous displays today circulate. Everyone waits with tingles of voyeuristic excitement at the prospect of a new dramatic display.

Sho moves to join Kyoko, but she stands and moves backwards until they are facing each other in the open grass of the entrance to the karaoke station.

"Where have you been all day?" Sho asks quietly and coolly. "I looked for you everywhere."

"Around," Natsu replies with as neutral expression as she can summon in the face of the enemy.

The crafty schoolgirl knows that she needs to handle this situation with care. Her newest toy is more dangerous than any she has tried to break before this.

Tension seems to grow in the surrounding crowd as the music superstar and the iconic bad girl exchange cool but polite inquiries into their recent activities. From the corner of her eye, Natsu sees Yumika watching with a confused expression on her face. Natsu twitches her fingers like she is dialing a phone. Yumika nods her head once. The audience, knowing who Yumika is, understands that something is definitely going to happen, and the tension level moves up a notch.

From the corner of her eye, Natsu sees Yashiro Yukahito push his way to the front of the crowd with a concerned expression on his face. He has a pair of gloves on his hands along with his phone as he sends a text message to Ren that Kyoko and Fuwa are facing off in the karaoke station. She continues her stilted conversation with Sho as Yashiro finishes his message and returns his phone and gloves to his pocket. Although he is not her first choice, Natsu decides that the manager will do in a pinch. He is safe and malleable. The pretty bully shares a quick smirk with Yumika who responds with an small nod.

Natsu turns her full attention back to Sho. She suddenly starts to cry. Huge tears begin to silently roll down her cheeks. The entire area falls silent. Natsu takes a jagged breath.

"I can't do this any more, Sho-chan" Natsu sobs as she wraps her arms around her middle in an attempt to still the slight trembling in her body. Her face crumbles into an expression of pure despair.

Sho's normally cool and disdainful image crumbles at the raw, unguarded anguish pulsing from Natsu's form. For an unknown number of heartbeats, the singer is transported back to his childhood and his own feelings of inadequacy at not knowing how to comfort his best friend. Realizing that he now knows what to do, Sho takes a step towards the girl he has hurt but still believes will love him. In the moment Sho starts to move, Natsu turns and throws herself against Yashiro's chest and sobs hysterically. Automatically, the manager wraps his arms around the young girl he thinks of as a sister in hopes of offering her comfort. He glares in disgust at the musician who is now staring in pain at his property while she cries on some other handsome man's chest.

Natsu takes a moment to dab her crocodile tears from her eyes against Yashiro's t-shirt but concentrates on keeping her body shaking as if still sobbing. Yashiro plays right into her plan by patting her back gently and murmuring gentle words of comfort.

Sho clenches his hands into fists in anger and a scowl grows across his face.

The crowd begins to murmur as they wonder what Fuwa could have done to destroy such an evil person like Natsu.

Keeping her head down, Natsu turns in Yashiro's arms and places her arms over his and leans her back against his chest. Yashiro continues to hold the teen as he tries to support her through her emotional distress. She clutches his arms against her so that the manager can not easily let her go. To the audience, it seems like Natsu is desperately seeking strength and comfort from the attractive older man when she is actually preventing him from escaping his important role in her little drama.

Unable to contain his frustration at seeing Kyoko in another man's arms, Sho order him to let her go.

Finally getting the reaction she wanted from Sho, Natsu immediately raises her head and reveals that she is actually shaking with amusement and not tears. Her musical laughter carries across the open space and into the shocked crowd.

"You are an idiot, Fuwa Sho," Natsu calls to the young musician who is still looking slightly devastated that she has sought comfort from a stranger over him. The distress slowly becomes confusion as Natsu runs her hands up Yashiro's arms to wrap around the back of his neck. The older man stiffens in shock at the aggressive and entirely too personal touching. A little voice in the back of the manager's head begins to scream at the thought of what Ren will do to him for the offense against his trust. Feeling guilty, Yashiro pulls back his arms and places his hands on the teen's waist in an attempt to push her away gently. To the audience and Sho, it seems more like a possessive move.

Unable to regain his control from the emotional roller coaster Natsu orchestrated, Sho's face cycles from jealousy to anger to confusion and back again.

From the crowd, a dark-haired girl in an identical uniform starts to laugh harshly at the musician's distress. Her response allow nervous titters to echo in the crowd.

Natsu steps free from Yashiro's personal space, and Yumika steps forward to join her.

"Did he really think he meant something to you, Natsu?" Yumika asks her friend loudly as the two girls circle their toy like sharks on the hunt.

Natsu shrugs slightly with a malicious grin as she passes behind Sho. The musician whips around to follow her movements.

"They always think they are something special," Natsu purrs as she crosses back to the front.

"Silly little men with their silly little brains," mocks Yumika as she makes her way around to Sho's back. The dark-haired girl takes the opportunity to run her finger nails across the back of Sho's neck because his attention is focused on Natsu who is pacing in front of him once more. The sharp sting makes Sho jump and turn to knock her away, but Yumika has wisely already skipped beyond his reach. Before he can pursue the aggressor, Natsu expertly draws his attention back to her.

"Did you think your music makes you special?" taunts Natsu which immediately brings Sho's attention back to the golden eyed predator.

"My music is special. No one is as good as me," Sho arrogantly replies as he tries to re-establish his cool facade.

This time, Yumika's nails rake across the slight patch of bare skin on his hip where his shirt has bunched above the waistband of his expertly slashed jeans. Again, Sho's hand moves to the lightly injured spot, and his attention shifts to Yumika momentarily as he spins to face her.

"You must not be that good," purrs Natsu with her own claws now whipping down Sho's closest arm.

Sho turns back from Yumiko towards Natsu, and Yumika takes the opportunity to scratch his other arm too. Sho's anger rises at the annoying swipes, and his inability to protect himself on both sides at once.

"I'm better then good. I'm a god," the rocker bites out as his eyes narrow while he once more appears to focus on the assistant in hopes that his real target will step within reach.

"Not much of a little godling, if you couldn't even keep the devotion of a plain and boring girl," Natsu taunts.

Realizing Sho's plan before he ever has a chance to grab her, Natsu moves back and instead slides close to Yashiro again. She grasps his arm and leans on his shoulder as she delivers her next hit.

"Why would you think anyone would prefer a one trick boy when there are better, more mature, men available."

Natsu feels Yashiro's soft attempt to again extract his arm as he whispers for Kyoko-chan to stop it. She laughs as she lets go of the manager's arm.

"Real men. Men who can give women real joy," she continues as she runs her nails across the older man's toned chest and brushes her hip suggestively against his nether regions in much the same way as she did to Hikaru earlier. Unlike the idol, Yashiro reacts with shocked surprise not pleasure, but to the audience and Sho, his movement just accentuates Natsu's physical taunt.

Natsu steps just beyond Yashiro and laughs fully at her toy who is back to looking pissed. Yumika reaches forward and viciously yanks the back of his hair. Sho grunts in response, and his hand just barely misses catching the much smaller girl's wrist. A hint of fear skirts Yumika's eyes as she retreats from the very dangerous toy.

Stinging pain in his cheek forces Sho to turn back to Natsu. This time, the musician is fast enough to catch the wrist of his attacker. If his move surprises the predator, she does not show it. In fact, she laughs once more in his face as he holds her left wrist, and the imprint of her palm and fingers glow red on his right cheek. Fuwa stares into the chilling, evil eyes that he has always thought would return quite easily to affection. For a moment, he worries that he has lost the chance to change those eyes forever. He needs those adoring golden eyes back desperately. It is the only way to sooth the intensely pricking insecurity their loss has created at the core of his being.

Yumika's eyes scan the crowd in desperation. She knows it is her job to distract the toy before it does anything harmful to her friend. Her eyes catch site of a spectator holding a melting snow cone; she immediately confiscates the treat.

"You're not a real man, Fuwa," continues Natsu as if she planned to let the musician grab her. Her own ego will not allow her to admit her toy has any type of advantage. "You're just a lost stray puppy desperately chasing the owner who no longer wants or needs it."

"I'm a man, damn it!" Sho growls as he pulls her roughly against him in a desperate bid to prove his manhood in the most obvious way.

In that moment, Yashiro decides that no matter what, he has to intervene before Sho really hurts Kyoko and possibly causes permanent damage to both their careers. He starts moving towards the couple but Yumika beats him to the punch. Sho yells and drops his grasp on his captive as both his hands scramble to remove the freezing, sopping mess that the dark haired bully dumped down the back of his shirt.

Both Natsu and Yumika move together out of Sho's reach while he cusses and extracts the sticky mess from the back of his shirt. He raises truly violently angry eyes to stare at the team of tormentors.

"What the hell are you thinking!" he yells.

Natsu laughs. "I think I might be wasting my time on a loser guy who spent his entire day looking for someone who obviously didn't want him to find her.

"I did not!" Sho shouts in direct denial to what the entire audience witnessed and heard at the start of the confrontation. The crowd laughs nervously as Natsu and Yumika cackle in amusement. The musician's eyes suddenly grow huge as his anger suddenly transforms to terror as a deathly aura washes across the entire area.

"You did too and everyone knows it. You're a fake, Sho," laughs Natsu even as Yumika too falls silent and glances nervously over her shoulder. "A pudding eating poser who..."

Natsu never finishes her next insult as a number of women in the audience scream in terror, and even Yashiro keens in fear at the livid visage of the towering shadow of death that storms into their midst.

BJ takes three long strides to bring himself center in the make-shift stage. He grabs Natsu's upper arm and wretches her around to face him.

"That is about enough out of you, Kitagawa Natsu," he growls as he changes his grip on the hellion and throws her roughly over his shoulder. Natsu screams and a number of members of the crowd echo her cry. The schoolgirl thrashes wildly in a bid to escape. Her comparatively pitiful malicious aura pales under the might of the truly evil man who has trapped her. Her struggles do no even inconvenience the death deity.

BJ then focuses his evil, deadly intend on Fuwa.

"Leave now and you will live to see tomorrow," he order. Sho stumbles back in terror until he bumps into the edge of the crowd. BJ turns and blankets the entire assembly with his aura of destruction. His eyes narrow even more as they make contact with Yashiro's panicking gaze and the manager stumbles back just like Fuwa did. Once again the manager has failed in his simple task and BJ does not appreciate the poor effort.

Without another word, the killer turns and stalks from the karaoke station with a still screaming Natsu on his shoulder.

BJ keeps his deathly menace wrapped coolly around them like a chilling mantle of protection the whole way back to the side entrance to Lory's mansion. Sebastian unlocks the door and stands back to allow the dark shadow carrying the still thrashing and yelling girl into the cool, dark corridor. The aide locks the door behind them as BJ continues to stalk down the hall. He roughly slams open the door into the guest suite and stalks past a startled Jelly and an amused Lory. BJ carries his burden into the bedroom and kicks shut the door.

He tosses his irate baggage onto the large bed and catches a glimpse of the pink underwear that matches the garters he saw earlier. Too angry for any of the voices in his head to care at the moment, the frustrated man raises his voice.

"Enough, Kyoko!"

The tall actor rips off BJ's trench coat and tosses it over the chair back. He grabs the clothes he had on after his first shower and storms back into the bathroom to take another one.

* * *

**A/N: I would like to thank Rutoh-chan and Fangurl Ayane for their discussions on Natsu. Although our individual images of the character differ, your inputs were greatly appreciated in helping me stumble through this really difficult scene. To anyone who is disappointed at the lack of seduction of Sho... let me know. We too can share lovely dissertations on self preservation and bullying. Also, special thanks to Ayane for helping me dissect draft number 3 to make number 4... Four works so much better and still gives us the yummy image of Cain carrying off our Heroine and tossing her on the bed *evil grin* - ME  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Tea and Consequences**

The prickling hot water beats down on Ren's shoulders and back as he rests his head against the cooler tile. He groans in frustration as he tries to calm his pounding headache. Over and over in his mind, he sees Sho pull Kyoko against him with violence in his eyes and how she did not even realize how much danger she was facing. No matter how innocent and naive Kyoko is, he does not understand how she could think she could attack a man like that and hope to have it end well. The actor takes a shaking breath of steamy air and turns to lean his back against the tile. As the tiny, pounding drops beat against his chest, Ren concentrates on relaxing the muscles in his body starting with his shoulder and neck. Once he convinces his body and extremities to relax, he focuses on the muscles of his face. By the time all his facial muscles feel peaceful, his breathing is normal as well as his heart-rate. The headache retreats to a manageable dull ache instead of the previously rampaging monster.

The actor reaches for the water controls and turns off the stream. It is time to face the music that is most likely still cowering on the bed in abject horror at the problems she caused. Although her over-reactive responses are normally very entertaining for the actor, he can't summon the amusement this time. With a clench of fear in his chest, he realizes it is time for him to change some things in their relationship, or he is going to go insane. He needs her to understand how important she is to him because he can't take her putting herself in situations like she was in with Fuwa again. His poor heart and his rapidly diminishing control will not survive the stress another time. Resolve in place, Ren steps from the shower, dries and slowly dresses.

* * *

While Ren calms his nerves in the shower, Kyoko sits in silence for a few minutes as she regains control of her own personality. She shudders in a combination of horror and embarrassment at her behavior today as Natsu. The actress finds herself at a loss of how to even begin to fix the damage she has done. She is so horrified by her actions that she is not even able to summon the energy to freak. She hears the door to the bedroom open, and Jelly Woods sticks her pretty head in the room.

"Kyoko-chan, I need you to get cleaned up so that I can start your scar make-up. If I don't begin it now, I won't have time to get it even partially done in time for your appearance," explains the witch.

Kyoko nods and follows Ten from the room. The make-up artist leads her back through the sitting room and past President Takarada and his aide who are quietly discussing what Sebastian witnessed of Kyoko's behavior as Natsu. Lory gives his aide a whispered request and the man slips from the room.

Ten shows Kyoko a small powder room off the sitting room so she can remove all evidence of Natsu. Kyoko washes her face and removes her Natsu costume when Ten returns with a camisole and a slip for her Mio costume. The actress quickly wipes off the sweat and grime from the day before slipping into Mio's elegant undergarments. Kyoko wraps herself in a plush white robe that Jelly also hands her. The actress smiles at the robe which is similar to the kind hotels keep for guests and wonders if there is anything that Presedent Takarada doesn't have available in his home.

Back in the sitting room, Ten whisks Kyoko onto a stool and sets to work. Her magic fingers fly at twice the speed of the artist who had been in charge of the scar during the filming of Dark Moon. While Jelly waits for a layer of latex application to dry, her fingers find other details to address. As the make-up witch removes Natsu's fingernail polish from Kyoko's left hand, she clucks over her broken nail and the bruise that is already appearing on her wrist. Ten sets to repairing the nail damage as a pair of soft brown boots and white pants appear in Kyoko's downcast vision.

"Mogami-kun," starts Lory's firm voice.

Kyoko raises her head to face the frowning president of LME in his favorite flowing white costume. Tears start to form on the edges of her eyes as she reads the disappointment in President Takarada's expression. She opens her mouth to apologize, but he does not allow her to do so.

"No, Mogami-kun. I do not want to hear that you are sorry, and you need to control those tears before they ruin Ten's work."

Jelly magically finds a free hand to dab the tears from the corners of Kyoko's eyes even before her Darling can finish his statement. The president continues.

"We will need to do some damage control now, and you are going to need to have Mio submit to it."

"Yes, sir," the actress meekly agrees.

"Good. Now tell me what else Natsu did today besides emasculating Fuwa Sho in front of about fifty people."

Kyoko starts by explaining about being late for her appearance for the meet and greet. As she relates the things she said to Ruriko, Ren exits the bedroom. He listens to the tale quietly and with just a hair of amusement at Natsu's ability to send the still occasionally spoiled singer into a tailspin so quickly. His amusement disappears completely though when Lory asks Kyoko why she was late for the meet and greet. Kyoko admits the things she did to Bridge Rock. Lory nods as she tells the story. At the end of the confession, Lory asks if she has anything else to add. Kyoko shakes her head.

"Well, you should offer Matsunai-kun a private apology later, and I recommend that you do the same for Yashiro-kun," recommends the president "but you might want to find the Ishibashis right after your Mio appearance and patch up your friendship as quickly as possible. Agreed?"

Kyoko nods.

"Good, because I would hate to have wasted so much persuasive power on convincing Marie that she really can share you with your co-stars during the fireworks," Lory jokes to help lighten the mood in the room.

Kyoko smiles softly and thanks the president. After a quick pat on her shoulder, he grins as he turns to the silent eavesdropper.

"And you," Lory states. "Aren't you late for relieving Ootomo-kun in the models' photo gallery?"

"Yes, sir," the handsome model admits as he pushes off the wall. He wishes he had time to talk to his clueless kohai and try to make her understand why what she did was so dangerous, but he knows that he does not have time for the conversation now. He is also quite sure that he needs time alone with her to properly explain his new resolve. Unfortunately, Ren is not about to start that particular conversation when he is on a time table and with the ever nosy Lory hanging on his every word. It bad enough to think the president would be listening for his own amusement but he would also most likely memorize the entire exchange so he can share the embarrassing story with his parents later.

"Tsuruga-san," calls Kyoko softly as he reaches for the door.

The actor schools his face and turns to the young actress who is sitting miserably still while Jelly works some more on her scar.

"I am truly sorry for making you come back out as BJ, and for trying to use you in Natsu's plot against Sho."

"I know, Kyoko," he simply states as he opens the door.

"Ren?" the actress timidly whispers in unconscious response.

"Hmm?" he replies as he turns with as neutral a face as he can summon into place. The actor casually crosses his arms to wait for her next response.

"Did you eat any lunch?" she asks in concern.

"No, Kyoko. I did not have time to eat because I was too busy changing costumes and scaring karaoke patrons."

"I'm so..."

"I know, Kyoko," interrupts Ren firmly as his expression slides from neutral to a possessively dark one. Kyoko shudders slightly as the Emporer of the Night continues. "You just need to remember that there are always consequences to your actions, Kyoko."

With that, Ren turns and leaves the room. Kyoko desperately tries to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat while Lory chomps his cigar and chuckles in amusement.

* * *

Two hours later, Hongo Mio moves sedately through a crowd of annoying pests as she is forced to meet and greet with the teeming mass of guests circling in the badly trampled grass in front of the main stage. Her eyes travel across the open space to make contact with the President of LME who is watching her with a slightly amused grin. For a moment, an angry aura begins to swirl around Mio in response to the blatant pleasure her babysitter is enjoying. Unconsciously, guests step back from the chilling air around the character, but Kyoko quickly catches herself. She reigns her character back under control. Snarling in her mind, Mio rails against the injustice of her being required to fix the mistakes of the shameless tart's game.

This is my punishment, Kyoko reminds herself as she prevents herself from joyfully immersing her consciousness in her character.

She is approached by Ogata, Harumi, and Aki. She bows politely to them as she wonders fleetingly if Shoko will be kind enough to drag Sho home soon.

Ogata smiles warmly at the character who served as the catalyst for the success of Dark Moon. He bows in return.

"I am looking forward to your tea ceremony, Hongo-sama," he greets respectfully. Mio blinks once in mild surprise at the affectionate yet deep respect the gentle man pays her with his words and expression. Kyoko resists the sudden impulse to preen happily or dance a little jig. Instead she inclines her head in what she hopes is a more Mio-like acknowledgment of the compliment.

"Well, just as long as you don't poison the guests," jokes Asami as she casually takes Hiroaki's arm.

Mio's face transforms to a hideously creepy expression of joy at the thought, and the three guests shiver. A bell tones and Mio abruptly turns and glides from the area.

Shoko grabs her friend's arm and hisses "Why would you give her an idea like that?"

Asami frowns slightly. "It was a joke, Shoko. Kyoko would never harm anyone," she states with confidence.

Shoko bites her tongue to keep from denying the statement. There is one obvious person who she would happily poison. Shoko sighs. The sweet actress might feel intensely bad about it afterward, but Shoko suspects her charge would be, none the less, able to provoke the actress into poisoning him. After all, he often makes her feel like strangling him, and Sho has personally never treated her as badly as he did Kyoko-chan.

Behind the stage, President Takarada gazes down at Kyoko and confirms that she is ready. She promises that she has control of herself. He shoos the actress towards the small tent where Jelly is waiting to help her don her kimono for the tea ceremony.

Sebastian returns from the final preparations on the stage for the ceremony. For this special presentation, LME staff have built a small Chashitsu complete with three walls, two sliding doors, tatami mats, a fire pit, and the Tokonoma. In the alcove, a single vertical scroll hangs with a poem about serenity in an expert's calligraphy. A single bamboo vase sits on the raised floor of the Tokonoma with a single brush of lavender to add a tiny splash of color in the stark white and dark wood of the set.

Although Kyoko was originally going to serve President Takarada in the ceremony, he elected a substitute in response to Kyoko's actions as Natsu. His surrogate steps from another small tent wearing a formal white kimono and divided black hakama.

"Are you sure I have to wear these?" the guest whines.

Lory chuckles.

"Of course!" he booms. "You look splendid, Fuwa-san."

The teen truly does appear handsome in the dark, wide bottomed, split pants and the crisp white seems to draw attention to his expressive face. It is too bad that the expression on his face right now is still a bit sulky.

The friendly older gentleman clasps the teen musician on the shoulder and again thanks him for agreeing to participate. Sho shrugs as if it is nothing, but he still looks uncomfortable in the traditional clothing that he has not worn since leaving Kyoto. Lory's aide holds out some simple props for Fuwa. He tucks the small cloth into the edge of his obi and palms the small wrapped utensil and the fan.

"You sure you know your part?" Lory asks once more even though Fuwa has assured him twice now that he knows his way through the tea ceremony.

"Who do you think had to play Shokyaku when she was learning this stupid tradition?" snorts Sho.

Lory finally accepts the musician's answer and so he introduces the first honored guest to the two other participants. Participation in the tea ceremony is actually one of the prizes for a raffle at today's festival. One male festival guest and one female festival guest had their names chosen at random to be allowed to have Hongo Mio serve them tea. A slightly overweight man in his late forties and a slightly flustered woman in her late twenties greet Fuwa and take their props from Lory's aide also. Another bell tones and the sounds of the large crowd in front of the stage dies away.

Sebastian escorts the three guests up the steps. He expertly slides open the guest door and sees the guests into place. Sho takes his place of honor closest to the Tokonoma. On the other side of the stage but outside the constructed tea room, Kyoko steals a glance at the live audience. Her eyes travel the crowd seeking familiar faces. She easily finds the Okamisan and the Taisho standing near the front of the crowd just like proud parents would normally be found. Her gaze travels further brushing over her best friend who is no longer dressed as a pink fairy but as her character from the drama she acted with Hio-kun. On one side of her friend stands Chiori who is dressed casually in jeans and a blouse. On the other side, Hio stands proudly.

In the back of the crowd, Kyoko notices the Ishibashis standing dangerously on one of the tables at the back of the cleared area; her friends are obviously on the table in hopes of getting a better view from over the crowd. Kyoko smiles slightly to know that they must not hate her completely if they came to watch her perform. She watches as Maria climbs up beside Shinichi so that she can see better too. The little golden haired girl seems to scold the boys a bit but they seem to respond well to her warning because all four soon turn happy faces towards the stage.

The actress skims the audience one last time searching for one last person. She notices Yashiro with a cute woman a few years older then him. The manager wears a silly little smile on his face that Kyoko has never seen the man wear. The actress feels happy for the older gentleman that he seems to be having a good time. Her golden eyes finish their circuit but do not find her senpai in the crowd. The actress sighs.

"It's time, Miss," prompts Sebastian from his place near the Teishu's entrance. He has all the utensils and equipment that Kyoko will need for the ceremony. Kyoko takes a steadying breath. This is her punishment she thinks as she sees President Takarada moving through the crowd to join his granddaughter.

"Acting got me into this problem. It better get me out of it," she mutters before centering herself in preparation to perform the traditional art form. If this is going to work, she will need to convince the guests and the audience that she is happy to be serving tea to her honored guest. She kneels and takes the bowl of sweets from Sebastian and sits it on the flooring by the sliding door. After one more deep breath, the teen pushes the door part way open with her left hand before changing hands and completing the opening with her right hand.

She steps into the room left foot first and elegantly moves until she is near Fuwa. She lowers herself to the floor and sits. Kyoko places the bowl of sweets near Sho's knee before bowing. She clearly states the traditional offer of sweets and Sho bows in response. Kyoko then rises and returns to the door to begin the long and deliberate process of bringing all the equipment needed for the tea preparation into the Chashitsu. Before she enters with the cold water container, Kyoko announces that she will now make thin tea. The teen then makes numerous trips in and out of the tea room with each item for the ceremony. Each piece of equipment has individual levels of importance and are carried and placed purposefully to denote their level of honor in the ceremony. As Kyoko enters with the final three utensils, she kneels just inside the door and closes it in a repeat of the formal way she opened it.

The actress then gracefully stands and carries the remaining items to position. When younger, it had taken her a long time to be able to balance all three items in her hands while rising. She places these last tools and then bows to the three guests. Sho and the older gentleman bow in return, but the third guest is so flustered that she bows later then her male counterparts. Kyoko rises from her formal greeting and shifts slightly until she is comfortable. She moves the kensui, or waste water bowl, a bit forward until it is even with the line of her bent knees.

Kyoko then begins the process of ceremonially cleaning her tools and equipment starting with the container of tea and proceeding to the Chashaku which is the long thin utensil used to scoop the green tea from its container. Kyoko uses the long bamboo ladle to place heated water in the tea bowel. She then cleans and inspects the bamboo whisk before disposing of the waste water into the kensui.

By now, Kyoko is totally lost in the intricate movements of the ceremony that Sho's mother had intended she learn so precisely in order to succeed her when Sho took over running the family business. She seamlessly moves from cleaning the tea implements to preparing the first chawan or bowl of tea. With a final whisk of the symbol for no over the frothy green tea, Kyoko sets the chasen back by the tea container before turning and placing the ceramic bowl of tea on the tatami for the shokyaku.

Sho moves towards the tea. In an almost nostalgic voice, the singer thanks Kyoko politely for making the tea. The tender tone startles the actress enough that she makes true eye contact with her childhood friend and current king of her frustration and discontent. Sho smiles just like he did when they were kids. It is a heart stopping image that squeezes something tight in Kyoko's chest. The ceremony stalls for just a moment as the two childhood friends share their first true moment without animosity or discontent in over a year and a half. Unfortunately, the momentary truce is bound to break as Sho smirks and lifts the ceramic bowl to drink the tea. The moment dies as Kyoko's eyes narrow marginally at his arrogance and missed cue.

In the audience, President Takarada shakes his head at the two stubborn fools on the stage. He sighs and mutters that they were so close.

"Perhaps next time," he decides with renewed amusement as he spies his favorite tall actor skulking in the shadow near the entrance to the packed audience area. Leaving Maria in the care of Bridge Rock, Lory weaves his way to stand beside his friend's son.

"Aren't you supposed to be safely taking pictures of festival patrons?" he whispers to the young man who thinks he is hiding himself by wearing a baseball cap.

Ren sheepishly admits that he couldn't miss her ceremony.

"She's doing quite well, right?" the actor asks. To his eyes, her movements are graceful and beautiful, but he does not know the ceremony well enough to make a true judgment.

Lory chuckles and states that she is performing with flying colors. Ren nods towards Fuwa who has moved back as Kyoko prepares and serves tea to the next guest. He asks Lory how he got the singer to agree to the appearance. The president grins evilly.

"Bribery, my boy. Bribery."

Ren is not amused when he learns that the carrot on Fuwa's stick is the promise to have Kyoko star in his next PV with him. President Takarada stares at his hand as if casually checking his fingernails for nicks to be filed. He calmly adds that Ren should have about three weeks.

"Three weeks for what?" Ren grumbles.

Lory gives the actor a look that clearly states that he is an idiot.

"Three weeks to get your butt in gear with Mogami-kun because his song will be done by then, and she might fall back under his influence if you can't stake your claim first."

The older man chuckles in amusement as Ren's face shifts slightly, and a bit of Kuon peaks through.

"Three week, huh? I can work with that," he states arrogantly.

Back on stage, the last guest is served her tea. After the female finishes drinking, Sho prompts Kyoko to finish the ceremony. Kyoko bows in acknowledgment of the Shokyaku's request. She then starts the deliberate process of cleaning to end the ceremony. Once the utensils are clean, she returns fresh cold water to the kama or iron kettle that holds the hot water. She then proceeds to remove the items used for the ceremony in much the same fashion as she entered. As she leaves from her last trip, Kyoko bows once more and thanks her guests. She then slides the door shut to end the tea ceremony.

Fuwa leads the other two guests from the their side of the stage. The two warring parties meet once again behind the stage.

"Not bad, Kyoko," Fuwa states with a slightly evil grin. "You still whisk too enthusiastically for my mom's approval, but I bet nobody here would even notice."

"Yeah, just like they wouldn't notice that you forgot to bow when you were first served, right?"

Sho frowns at the mention of his slip, and Kyoko returns the look.

Before either celebrity can cause additional problems, Lory's aide prompts them both to head to the other side of the stage because there are folks who will want to congratulate them on their performances. Of course, Sho preens as if he was the star of the show and immediately excuses himself to meet his adoring public.

Kyoko chooses to slip around the other direction in hopes of catching her landlords before they leave the area. She finds them waiting exactly where they were to watch her. The Okamisan hugs her and gushes about what a wonderful job she did. The older woman makes Kyoko laugh as she recaps all the best parts of her performance. As the woman finally winds down her praise, the Taisho places his hand on Kyoko's shoulder.

"We are proud of you, Kyoko-chan," he firmly states with a nod of his head. The older couple glance over to the ever growing crowd of clamoring friends and fans who wish to speak to Kyoko. They wish their surrogate daughter a good evening and tell her that they are heading home but that they will see her when she returns. As soon as the couple moves away, Kyoko is mobbed by others wishing to compliment her. She spends a dizzying half an hour being shuffled slowly across the trampled grass by well wishers. By the time she reaches the back of the large space, she is surprised that the Ishibashis are still sitting on the table they previously used as a platform.

Suddenly unsure of what to say, Kyoko glances at the ground anxiously.

"So, Kyoko-chan, do you need to keep being Mio for the rest of the night?" Shinichi asks.

The teen looks up and shakes her head.

"Great!" the blond idol cries as he grabs the teen and practically tosses her over the table towards Yuusei and Hikaru. Yuusei grabs one of her hands, and Hikaru grabs the other one. Laughing manically, Shinichi throws himself over the table, and all three idols begin to run while dragging the startled actress along with them.

From his shadow, Ren watches in frustration as Kyoko is whisked away. Beside him, Lory laughs so hard that tears leak from his eyes.

"Perhaps you will need to be faster then three weeks," the older man teases as Kyoko and Bridge Rock disappear in the distance.

* * *

**A/N: If I made any mistakes in the tea ceremony, I am quite sorry. It is not something about which I knew anything originally and I could not find any decent video examples of thin tea being served to multiple guests so the image from my head to the paper was a bit weaker then I normally prefer when writing. - Me**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Better Understanding**

All three Ishibashis are laughing as they run full speed with Kyoko in tow. Although Kyoko is arguably in better shape then any of her co-stars, they are not hampered by a traditional kimono. Yuusei and Hikaru slow slightly and Shinichi passes them. He sprints to the left and follows the high stone wall that surrounds the Takarada's outdoor pool. By the large, ornate wrought iron gate, the joker stops and types a code into the keypad lock. Triumphantly, he slides open the door just in time for Yuusie and Hikaru to race through it with their kidnap victim.

One moment, Kyoko is running flat out in an attempt to keep pace with the two men pulling her, and the next moment, she is flying in the air as her two friends suddenly stop running. The actress screams as she sails through space until finally falling wildly into the deep end of the president's swimming pool. Her scream is cut short as she slips below the water surface. She resurfaces sputtering.

If running in traditional clothes is difficult, swimming in them is down right ridiculous. Kyoko looses one of her shoes and also Mio's wig in the pool. She swims clumsily back to the side of the pool where Bridge Rock stands laughing. Placing her hands on the side of the pool, the actress looks up at her Kimagure Rock co-stars as they attempt to get control of their mirth.

"I guess I deserved that," Kyoko admits as Hikaru offers her a hand to pull her from the pool.

As he bends to reach her, Shinichi shoves the older idol from behind, and he topples over Kyoko into the water also.

Shinichi drops to the ground as he continues to laugh like a madman. With the joker safely out of commission because of his amusement, Yuusei now offers Kyoko a hand out of the pool. He drags the sopping actress from the water. She thanks him, and he grins.

Hikaru swims towards the middle of the pool and retrieves the forgotten shoe and dives to collect the slowly sinking wig. He moves back to the edge of the pool and pulls himself out after setting aside Kyoko's lost items.

As the sounds of laughter slowly fades, Kyoko raises serious eyes to her friends.

"I'm sorry for what I did to all three of you this afternoon."

Yuusei reaches out and tousles Kyoko's drenched hair.

"We all watch Box R. We understand why you did it, Kyoko-chan," Yuusei states with a soft smile. "I'm just kind of scared at how well you knew how to push my buttons so quickly."

Kyoko rings her hands together. Unhappy with herself, the actress admits "well, I knew you are always so protective of your friends so doing something mean to them would make you more angry then doing something mean to you directly."

Shinichi barks out a laugh as he sits up. He grins evilly.

"If that was being mean to Hikaru, you can torture me any day," teases the blond.

Both Kyoko and Hikaru blush as Yuusei launches himself at the blond. The dark-haired idol hits him in the middle of his chest with his shoulder, and they begin an impromptu wrestling match. The pair argue about respect and appropriateness as they scuffle.

Kyoko turns to Hikaru and offers another apology for treating him in such a rude manner.

"That's okay, Kyoko-chan. I didn't really mind," the idol admits.

Kyoko looks up from her clenched hands to gaze at the oldest Ishibashi because that is not exactly the response that she was expecting. She finds Hikaru just smiling at her with the open and friendly expression that he normally shares with her. The actress shakes her strange, momentary thoughts from her head and turns to the still wrestling friends.

"So how did you acquire the combination for the pool lock?" She lowers her voice. "I thought this area was off limits today. Are you some kind of sneak-thief?"

Shinichi and Yuusei stop their match and roll to their knees. The blond idol admits that he charmed the president's granddaughter into giving him the lock combination.

"I'm good with the ladies," he boasts.

"Yeah, as long as the ladies are under ten. After all, they're right at your maturity level," teases Yuusei.

Kyoko can't help but laugh as she informs them that Takarada Maria is much more mature then Shinichi-san. She then admits that she really would like to go and change her clothes now. Still laughing, the actress excuses herself after apologizing one last time to her co-stars. She slips her wet shoe back in place and grabs Mio's wig. She promises once more to see them for the fireworks.

As the cute actress disappears from sight, Shinichi turns to Hikaru. He smacks him in the shoulder and asks him why he didn't tell her that he really liked Natsu's attention this afternoon when she apologized. The idol shrugs.

"I didn't want to make her uncomfortable," he admits. "Kyoko likes treating us like big brothers, and I don't want to force her to change that. I will be her friend or her brother unless she wants to change the relationship."

Yuusei sighs.

"But how is she going to know how you feel if you don't tell her."

Hikaru looks at his friend who always treats him like he has no clue about relationships. The older idol shakes his head at his friend's surprising lack of insight.

"She knows, Yuusie."

"Huh?" replies both his friends, and Hikaru sighs in resignation.

"Today when she was acting as Natsu, she played you perfectly because she knows how you feel about me. Right, Yuusei?"

His friend nods.

"Well, how would Natsu have known how to play me so well if she didn't know how I feel?"

Yuusei and Shinichi stare at their chief in disbelief. Both of them have always considered their cute older buddy to be almost like a kid in his approach to relationships. Sitting by the pool as the sun starts to set, they realize that they have been the fools. It finally becomes clear to them that Hikaru has known all along that his crush is not going to return his feelings.

"Sucks to be you," Shinichi finally states in best buddy sympathy.

Hikaru glances out the gate where Kyoko has disappeared.

"Yeah, and not just 'cause I'm short," he states with a rueful smile.

* * *

Kyoko pushes aside the bright pink flap of the equally bright tent that has been set aside for the LoveMe girls. Her appearance may remind one of a finely dressed drowned rat, but she feels happier then she has felt in hours. As the tent flap shuts, she sets Mio's wig on the folding table and starts stripping the soaking kimono parts from her body. She hopes that her stint in the pool does not ruin the outfit completely.

"What happened to you?" a deep voice calls as Ren makes his presence known to the preoccupied actress.

Kyoko screeches in surprise as she freezes with her obi partially unwrapped from her waist. Ren laughs and offers a soft apology for scaring her as he steps close to her. He takes the long piece of material out of Kyoko's hand and starts to assist her in unraveling the clothing accessory. The teen's hands scramble to grab the material back.

"What are you doing?" she stammers.

The Emperor grins and replies that he is helping.

Kyoko slaps at Ren's hands and tries to back away from the intimidating man. He grins at her retreat but lets her escape.

"So why are you drenched?"

Kyoko finishes removing her obi and hangs it of the edge of the portable wardrobe. She nervously stands for a moment as she is unsure of what to do now. She feels uncomfortable in the wet clothes but can't continue to change with Tsuruga-san in her tent. She picks the outer latex of Mio's scar off her face and tosses it onto the table. Kicking her feet out of her wet shoes to give her more time to think, she replies that she is wet because of consequences.

"Consequences, huh?" Ren replies with a thoughtful expression. "That's why I am here too."

The actor falls silent and just stares at his kohai. Kyoko fidgets under his scrutiny. She blushes as she asks him if it can wait until she has dry clothes.

"Go ahead, Kyoko," Ren replies as he crosses his arms. "We can talk while you change."

Kyoko squeaks and turns even redder. She stutters and exclaims that she can't change with him here. Ren smirks as he points out that he already saw her pink underwear today so what difference would it make.

Kyoko's mouth falls open as she gapes at her senpai. Her brain rushes to try to figure out how he knows what color her underwear are. Ren can practically see her tumbling thoughts as panic spirals round her eyes. He shakes his head and chuckles.

"How about I move that chair over here and face the wall and then you can change?"

Kyoko shakes her head.

"You could take the chair outside. I promise I won't take long. Just a couple minutes. I promise."

Now Ren shakes his head.

"I can't go out there. I will be mobbed by guests."

Kyoko bites her lower lip.

"It's getting dark. I bet no one will notice you."

Ren shakes his head again.

"I promised President Takarada that I would stay in this tent until full dark."

Kyoko twists the dripping sleeve of her kimono as she miserably stares at her dry outfit hanging tauntingly on the wardrobe. Desperate to get out of the wet outfit, the actress agrees.

Ren immediately turns his chair to face the wall and positions himself on it so that he can not see his kohai. For a moment, Kyoko stares at the back of her senpai's head. She then sighs before beginning to peel her kimono from her body. The soft yet heavy sounds of wet cloth moving send Ren's imagination into overtime. Hoping to distract his wayward thoughts, the actor comments that Kyoko seems to know the members of Bridge Rock quite well.

Kyoko swallows nervously as she admits to developing a good friendship with them over the past year or so.

"How did you meet them?" he innocently asks in a bid to keep his mind off the vivid images in his mind. Ren finds himself wanting to know the story not just to keep his mind off his indecent thoughts or to appease his growing jealousy. Like a besotted fool, he wants to know everything about the girl he loves.

Kyoko pauses in removing her wet undergarments.

"Um, do you think it's wrong to keep secrets from people?"

Unconsciously, Ren turns his head at her strange response to his question. When he catches a glimpse of bare skin as Kyoko digs in her bag for clean, dry underclothes, he finds himself blushing and forces himself to turn back to the seriously less interesting pink canvas wall. He clears his throat nervously.

"I think it depends on the circumstances, Kyoko," he replies honestly as he contemplates the myriad of secrets that surround his life.

When Ren utters her given name once more, it spurs the young actress to answer her senpai honestly.

"I know the Ishibashi big brothers because I work with them," she admits.

Ren frowns in confusion at the rapid return to his previous question.

"Huh?"

"I work with them almost every week on their television variety show, Kimagure Rock."

"Really?" Ren asks with surprise. Thinking that is must be some kind of long term administration or technical related LoveMe job, Ren asks "What do you do for the show?"

"I play Bo."

Ren spins in his seat to stare at Kyoko who is buttoning up her tan shorts.

"You play the chicken," he confirms with an almost giddy feeling. He is not sure if the feeling is from the shock of discovering the identity of his anonymous chicken consultant or from seeing Kyoko standing in the fading light in a pair of shorts and an adorable green and white polka-dot bra.

"Ren!" cries Kyoko when she notices him staring at her.

"Uh, sorry," he mutters as he turns back around in his chair. The actor adds green and white polka-dots to his slowly growing list of favorite colors for undergarments.

Meanwhile, Kyoko mutters grumpily that at least she had something on when he turned. The teen uses a small hand towel to try to dry her still wet hair before she slips her dark green, hooded shirt over her head. She rubs the area where Mio's scar was affixed in an attempt to remove the last of the adhesive from her skin. She absently drops the few remaining pieces of glue onto the table. Now dressed and feeling more in control, Kyoko circles to stand in front of her senpai. She gracefully slips to her knees in front of Ren.

"I hope you don't mind that I did not tell you about Bo until now," she states as she innocently looks up at Ren. The actor smiles tenderly and reaches towards her cheek. His finger brushes gently down her soft skin eliciting a slightly nervous expression from Kyoko's eyes. He assures her that he does not mind at all. In fact, he owes her a lot of thanks for her help as Bo. He is glad that she finally told him the secret.

"Secret!" shouts Kyoko as she suddenly jumps from the ground.

Her outburst startles Ren and he jumps slightly. As he settles back on the chair, he watches Kyoko rush to the folding table and grab a silver wrapped box. The actress exclaims that she forgot to drop her secret gift at the delivery boxes. She moves towards the tent opening.

"Kyoko, we need to talk," Ren stresses as he stands up to try to stop her flight.

Kyoko glances from her senpai to the gift and back. She asks if it can wait a few minutes while she runs the box to the delivery site. Ren makes her promise to return immediately and he will wait. The actress grins brightly and dashes from the temporary LoveMe room.

A few minutes later, Kyoko rushes back into the room. She is panting and flushed from running so hard. Ren takes her hand and pulls her to the back of the now dim tent. He sits her on a folding chair and pulls another one across from her. He takes her right hand again. While her breathing returns to normal, Ren's long fingers trail soothing patterns across the back of her hand as they sit in silence. Although she tries to free her hand at first, the soft repeating pattern is oddly comforting and so she slowly stops resisting. His hands shift to rest on his knee while continuing to gently stroke Kyoko's imprisoned extremity.

The pair sits in silence while the inside of the tent becomes still darker as the last rays of sunlight fade from the sky.

"We need to talk about your behavior today as Natsu," Ren starts.

In the darkness, the actor can hear the actress swallow but can not see the movement. He senses but cannot see her returning embarrassment at the reminder. She nods slightly.

"Kyoko, do you respect me?"

"Of course I do Tsuruga-senpai," Kyoko replies earnestly as her mind goes directly to the thought that her disappointed senpai is about to teach her something important about acting.

The older man sighs.

"Ren… Of course I do, Ren," the man prompts. He watches as the dim figure raises her head slightly. Ren gently squeezes her hand to encourage her response. Kyoko repeats her statement using his given name and he smiles.

"Then if you respect me, does that mean you care about my health and well being?"

Kyoko snorts. "Of course I care about your health. Someone has to. You don't eat right. You work too much. You…"

Ren sets one of his fingers on Kyoko's lips.

"There is a lot more to my health than when and what I eat and how much sleep I get."

Kyoko frowns and tries to apologize for keeping Ren from lunch today because of her behavior. Ren raises his finger from her lips and lightly flicks her on the forehead. Her free hand flies to her head and a look of shock appears on her face. Ren shakes his head slightly.

"I told you that there is more to it then just my eating habits."

His raised hand captures Kyoko's hand on her forehead. He lowers it to rest on his other knee.

"I appreciate how much you worry about my eating habits and my sleeping habits. I need you to help me with some equally important health issues. I need you to not do things like you did this afternoon. My heart can not take it."

"You have a heart condition?" Kyoko asks with instant concern.

Ren can't help but chuckle.

"Not exactly," he explains. "More like a full body condition."

Even in the dim light, Ren can recognize Kyoko's frown of confusion. Ren shifts his hand and pushes back her left sleeve. His fingers play across the darkened spots on her wrist where Sho marked her when he grabbed her in anger.

"You scared me very badly today, Kyoko. You may have been playing Natsu for the crowd but it is still your body. Your mind and your soul inside. You are an amazing actress. You played your role so well today that you pushed Fuwa to forget the crowd. You stripped him bare and exposed him. You did the same thing to me."

"But I…"

"No, please let me finish," Ren stresses when she tries to interrupt. "With your words and actions, you shredded Fuwa's facade and left only raw, reactive emotion, and when he grabbed you, it did the same thing to me. He hurt you, and it made me want to destroy him. Your actions stripped me bare just as easily as Fuwa. Hell, probably easier. You made me want to kill him for threatening you, for hurting you. It wasn't BJ who slung you over his shoulder this afternoon. It was me. No acting. Just me. Do you understand? You shattered all my control purely by placing yourself in danger."

The dim light in the tent reflects on the tears filling Kyoko's eyes. She tries to apologize, but Ren stops her.

"I don't want you to apologize. I want you to be more aware. I want you to look at the things you do and the way it makes me react. I need you to see me, and the things that you do to me. Can you do that, Kyoko? Can you try to look out for my emotional health with even part of the fervor that you use for attending to my eating habits?"

Kyoko swallows, and Ren notices the slight tremors in her hands. Ren smiles tenderly, and Kyoko relaxes slightly even though she can not clearly see the smile.

"I'll try," she promises in a slightly frightened voice.

"Don't be scared about it, Kyoko. You'll do fine. It's not a graded job for LoveMe or school. It is just a simple request from me to you, and all I ask is that you try."

"I'll try," she replies more firmly.

"That's my girl," Ren responds with a grin.

* * *

**A/N: Ah... finally, some promised Ren attention... Just one more chapter to go ****-ME**


	7. Chapter 7

**Pay the Piper**

Kyoko and Ren make their way slowly through what remains of the festival. Most of the larger activities have closed and about half of the food stalls are begging folks to buy the last of their wares. Ren purchases them each a little wrapped sausage and a slice of watermelon. Whenever they stop, festival guests approach the pair for autographs and a chance to speak with not only Japan's number one actor but also one of LME's fastest rising new stars.

As promised, Kyoko tries to subtly watch Ren. She notices how he always smiles his polite smile for every fan. The only time the smile seems to change is when one of the young male fans becomes a little overly friendly with her by asking for her phone number along with her autograph. She notices that he smiles softly when she insists that he buy the watermelon for dessert instead of an unhealthy fried treat. The actress chronicles the look of concern that shows only in Ren's eyes when a large group of drunken festival guests barrel loudly down the middle of the path. The actor casually steps between Kyoko and the rowdy guests as a protective screen.

When they stop to play a silly game of ring toss, she watches as his competitive spirit rises to match her own while they each try to land more rings over the milk bottles. Ren grumbles in mock annoyance when Kyoko succeeds in landing more rings on the bottle necks then he does, but he grins knowingly when she picks a tiny little cell phone charm of a crown for her prize. He jumps when she reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone. She puts the charm on his phone.

"Um, Kyoko, don't you think that is a little feminine to be on my phone? Why don't you put it on your own phone?" he asks with one eyebrow raised.

Kyoko laughs and insists it is perfect for him. After all, he is the Demon Lord and the Emperor of the Night.

"What?" he exclaims in confusion. The Emperor then smirks when she explains. Like a gracious monarch, he concedes to keeping the charm even though he knows that Yashiro will laugh about it as soon as he notices it.

During one of the times when fans have gathered around them, the alarm on Ren's cell phone begins to sound. The alarm is a warning that it is almost time for the pair to meet for the President's silly gift exchange idea. The celebrities quickly finish their autographs and excuse themselves. Ren grabs Kyoko's hand and makes a bee-line for a very large tent that had been used for mahjong during the day but has now been emptied of tables except along the periphery. When the pair enters the tent, Lory's aide hands them both a present with their names typed on a card and affixed to the box.

"Welcome, my friends!" calls President Takarada from the small stage at the front of the tent. "Since the last of my wayward, single talents have arrived, we will begin our final game of the night. Each of you have been given a gift from someone in this room. It is your job to figure out who gave you the present given the gift and the three clues included with it. Remember that you can only ask three people if they gave you the gift. You have until the fireworks begin to figure out who provided your gift. Anyone who does not know who gave them their gift by the end of the time has to report here tomorrow to help clean up."

Everyone in the audience groans. Lory looks at his watch.

"You have about twenty minutes," he calls. "Best get to it!"

Paper and ribbon flies and general murmurs and laughter cuts through the crowd as people tear into their gifts. Lory and his aide watch for a moment as folks begin to question others in the room about whether or not they are the ones who gave them their present.

Kyoko enthusiastically tears the paper from her gift and stares in confusion at the very delicate and richly carved reed instrument in her hand. The wooden instrument is beautiful and the actress cannot resist putting it to her mouth and blowing. A hideous screech emanates from the instrument. Kyoko quickly places in on the table as she tries to think of who could possibly have bought her an instrument. She glances around at the other in the room. She sees Yashiro opening a box of rubber gloves. She laughs at the very practical gift that she knows was purchased by Chiori because the actress had bugged her into helping find something useful for Ren's manager.

"Kyoko-chan, did you give me this?" asks Moko as she holds out a tiny bracelet with a delicate charm of the LoveMe logo on it.

Kyoko shakes her head no but exclaims over the intricate workmanship of the jewelry that she knows Shinichi ordered for her best friend because he had begged her to help him figure something out for the gorgeous actress that he only knew was friends with Kyoko.

Kyoko glances at Ren who is staring at a tiny book almost like a little girl's diary complete with a lock. The actor jiggles the lock and checks the box again for a key but there is none. He opens the first clue that says 'I know your secret'.

Ren looks at the card and the typed clue. He walks over to President Takarada and asks if the gift is from him. He shakes his head no. As he returns to open clue number two, Kyoko realizes that she hasn't even looked at her clues yet.

She tears open the first one. It simply says 'costumes are fun'. Kyoko frowns. Most of the folks in this room are actors or actresses. They all wear costumes. Kyoko suddenly laughs. She runs up to the president to see if he gave her the pipe because no one wears more costumes then he does. The gentleman shakes his head no. Kyoko heads back to the table and her gift but is stopped by Yuusei who is holding a small, homemade white rooster one a metal clip.

"You made this, didn't you?" he states more than asks.

Kyoko nods. "How did you guess?"

Yuusie pulls the chicken's head off to reveal Kyoko's face. "Well, neither of the other guys gave it to me so I figured it had to be from you."

"Do you like it?" the actress asks.

Yuusei laughs and clips the rooster to his belt loop. He tells her that he loves it. Shinichi and Hikaru join them. Hikaru is holding a tiny bridge made of stone.

"Check it out," he laughs. "I got a Bridge made of Rock, get it, Bridge Rock"

Kyoko laughs. Shinichi interrupts and asks if she would make him a Bo doll too. He is jealous of Yuusei's gift. Kyoko nods and says that she can make each of them one if they want.

"Cool!" Shinichi calls as he hits Yuusei in the shoulder. "Told you she would make me one too."

Kyoko turns to Hikaru and asks if he would like one too. He blushes slightly and leans closer to Kyoko and whispers in her ear.

"Really?" Kyoko asks in amazement.

When the oldest Ishibashi nods his head earnestly, she agrees. Hikaru beams. As Kyoko leaves the Bridge Rock idols, she shakes her head. For the life of her, she can't image why Hikaru would rather have a miniature of Natsu instead of Bo but she might as well give him what he wants. It's his present after all.

Kyoko reaches the table and opens her next clue which says 'Nicknames are special'. This makes Kyoko ask Moko if she gave her the gift. Her best friend denies it.

Beside Moko, she hears Yashiro denying the he gave Ren his gift. The manager then cackles evilly when Ren lets him read his second clue that states 'You move way too slow'.

Kyoko opens her final clue and stares at it. It says 'I am _**grateful**_ to have worked with you'.

Kyoko sits tries to contemplate all her clues but she is distracted by Ren as he opens his final clue. His third envelop contains the tiny key for the miniature book. Despite his large fingers, he deftly inserts the key into the lock and turns it. The lock clicks and he opens the book. His third clue is hand printed on the first page of the tiny book. 'I will only share if you are worthy' boldly taunts the actor. Unsure of this one's meaning, Ren turns the page to reveal a wallet-size picture of Kyoko in her LoveMe uniform. The actor continues to flip pages as he stares at the collection of adorable candid photographs of the girl he loves. Near the back of the book, a picture of Kyoko peacefully sleeping makes him catch his breath. For a moment, he wonders who could have seen her sleeping, and he feels a twinge of jealousy.

His jealousy erupts further when he turns the page and a picture of her having just woken up is there. She is sitting up on the bed with the blanket only covering her lower legs. Pale skin is visible from almost the tops of her thighs to her knees. The teen's frilly baby-doll nightgown has fallen down her shoulder to reveal all her right shoulder and the top most swell of her breast. Like a little kid, Kyoko is rubbing her eyes to try to wake. It is such an innocent motion and expression that is totally at odds with the sensuality of the rest of the photograph. Ren finds himself sweating as he continues to stare at the captivating picture.

Curious at what is holding Ren's attention, Yashiro looks over his shoulder at the photograph.

"Good heavens," he mutters in shock.

Ren turns his attention to his manager.

"You better forget you ever saw that," he growls menacingly as he snaps shut the book.

"Consider it forgotten," promises Yashiro as he takes a step back nervously.

Ren opens the tiny book one more time to check the last two photos. If the waking up picture was enticing enough to make him sweat, the second to last one is enough to make him wish for a cold shower. This one is of Kyoko in a bubble bath. She is laughing joyfully. All her private parts are properly covered by her hands, and bubbles but his imagination goes wild at the thought of being in the tub with her. He shifts a bit uncomfortably as his body reacts to his imagination. In an attempt to preserve his slipping control, he flips to the last page.

The final picture is a close-up of Kyoko with tears spilling down her cheeks. Her lower lip looks like it is quivering, and she looks completely lost. Under the photograph is a tiny post it note with a warning. 'If you make her feel like this too often, I will kill you because I love her too - just not the same way'. The bonus clue cements it for him even though he wonders how she figured out his secret. He closes the book and snaps the lock shut before placing the tiny key in his wallet.

The actor stands and approaches Kyoko's best friend who is currently harassing all three Bridge Rock boys as she tries to get one of them to give her an extra clue about which one might have given her the little piece of jewelry. Before he reaches the little collection of LME talent, Kanae grabs her best friend and shakes her because she will not help her. Ren watches in amusement as the actress summons tears to trick her best friend into helping her discover the giver of her gift. He chuckles as Kyoko caves and whispers into her Moko's ear.

"Kotonami-san?" Ren interrupts before she can confirm Kyoko's whispered answer. "You gave me this, correct?"

"Well, duh!" she answers with a dismissive flick of her hand as she turns to confirm her own gift giver before time expires. Ren can't help but smile at the gruff acting actress who gave him such a perfect present.

Kyoko watches her friends for a moment as she tries to figure out who might have given her the musical instrument. She laughs as Maria arrives and throws herself into Ren's arm. The tall actor spins the little blond in the air before settling her back on the ground where she then surprisingly abandons the tall actor in favor of demanding attention from the blond idol in Bridge Rock.

"Looks like Ren has been abandoned for a younger model," jokes Yashiro as he sits beside Kyoko who is the only one who has yet to discover her gift giver.

Kyoko shifts her attention to the man beside her. Her eyes grow large.

"Yashiro-san!" she cries as she remembers that she owes him an apology too. Unlike everyone else today, the manager listens intently and watches in amusement as the young actress lowers herself to the floor and begs his forgiveness for her inappropriate behavior this afternoon as Natsu. He smiles and agrees on two conditions. Kyoko immediately agrees to whatever his requests are.

"Good. The first condition is that you never do something like that to me again. Even if you were playing a character, it made me very ill at ease for a number of reasons. Not only did it make me physically uncomfortable, but it was professionally mortifying. Remember, I am not an actor, Kyoko-chan. I am not used to being part of the drama. I prefer to watch and help in the background. Can you remember that?"

Kyoko nods in agreement. Yashiro reaches out and pulls Kyoko from the ground to sit beside him. He looks around as if confirming that no one is listening. He grins mischievously as he whispers his second requirement.

"I need you to keep Ren occupied during the fireworks," Yashiro requests as he slowly starts to blush. "I want to meet with someone else for the evening, but I can't do that if I am worrying about Ren. Will you take care of him for me?"

Kyoko remembers the pretty woman she saw with Yashiro earlier. She grins knowingly and promises to look after Ren for him. The manager reacts with mild surprise at Kyoko's use of Ren's given name. His face breaks into a huge grin. Yashiro pats Kyoko on the hand in happy support of the obvious progress she has established with his charge.

"Before I go, can I help you at all?" the manager asks as he points to Kyoko's gift and clues. They discuss the clues briefly. As they talk, more of Kyoko's friends wander over to help. Even Maria bounces over and crawls onto her big sisters lap to offer advice. A lively discussion ensues with names being suggested and rejected.

President Takarada offers a one minute warning for the game, and Kyoko stares at him in a panic. She notices a slight movement behind the flamboyant head of LME.

"I GOT IT!" she screams as she jumps up. Maria flies into the air to be safely caught by a startled but well placed Shinichi. Calling a quick sorry, Kyoko grabs her instrument and races towards the President. She skids past him and shouts at his aide.

"YOU GAVE ME MY PRESENT!"

The sedate and observant gentleman nods once.

In the background a large boom issues to signify the start of the fireworks.

"Congratulations, Mogami-kun," states Lory as he claps for LoveMe number one.

"Thank you, Sebastian-san!" Kyoko intones with a final bow before racing back to the collection of LME most popular acting and talento section idols that are waiting for her. They all clamor outside for the magnificent display of fireworks that President Takarada arranged to end the festival.

The president and his quiet aide follow slowly and watch the antics as some of Lory's favorite children clamor for position to watch the display. They watch as the oldest Ishibashi spreads out a huge blanket beside the large pink one with a LoveMe logo that Chiori and Kanae have placed on the ground. Lory snorts as two dark-haired junior high boys sneak into the area that was reserved for LME talent to enjoy the fireworks in peace. He recognizes the one as Uesugi Hio, and he is pleasantly surprised to see LoveMe number two showing the young teen actor respect and admiration.

On the blankets, much shuffling occurs until the talents finally settle to enjoy the show. Lory grins as he notices Ren bump against LoveMe number one and leave his hand over top of hers as it rests on the blanket by her legs. Kyoko glances at Ren's upturned face as she turn her hand and laces her delicate fingers in his larger ones. Her eyes widen slightly as she notices the slightest lift in lip when she takes his hand. Lory observes his granddaughter crawling into the lap of her proclaimed big sister and leaning back against her. On Kyoko's other side, the Bridge Rock boys flop in a pile. Their mouths are constantly moving and their verbal antics keep everyone in the group laughing. Along the edge of the pink blanket, Chiori sits observing those around her more than the fireworks.

After a particularly loud and bright explosion, Lory turns to his aide.

"So why a musical pipe?" he asks. "Of all the things you could have gotten her, why that instrument."

"I thought it would be obvious given her interest in fairy tales," the introverted aide replies.

Lory chomps his cigar with a thoughtful expression.

"But a pipe? Why not a glass slipper or a crown or even a spun glass rose. A pipe doesn't seem like the best choice," counters the president.

"But, sir," the aid counters. "What could possibly be better? After all, she is the pied piper."

The aide waves towards the relaxing collection. "No matter where she leads, they will all follow."

Behind his mask, the aide's professional face slips as he gazes in affection at the amazing young girl as he adds, "In fact, we all will follow."

**A/N: The one question I just wasn't sure about... would Lory even try to pay the piper or would he just follow too *grin* I hope that you enjoyed this story. It was just supposed to be a fun diversion with lots of naughty images even if no one really got to kiss... well except for Yashiro when he sneaks off... naughty manger - Me**


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